Cassylvania's Miserable Little Pile of Platinums

[Cassylvania]

Dead Space and Dead Cells, huh? I've heard of the first one, but don't know much about it. Dead Cells looks pretty cool, from a quick video I just watched. Not sure why so many people were hating on IGN in the comments...

 

Well, for my first time playing through XCOM on Easy, I gotta say...uh, I don't think this game knows how to handle difficulty this low. If you do a UFO mission, you're blasted with stuff like Berserkers and Ethereals, while normal missions just have Thin Men and maybe Mutons...even in July. That's like going from playing to the Patriots to playing Vanderbilt.

 

Managed to finish the game on August 6, 2015, which I think is pretty good. Could've done it quicker, but I wanted to get a few more research projects done before taking on the final mission. I forgot how bullshit that final room can be. Still, no other deaths other than the ones in Operation Flying Hawk, although I will admit that I save scummed a few times on that mission (after the brutal wipeout), a second UFO mission (only because I was trying to mind control an Ethereal, for the trophy), and the final mission. I feel justified, after the game crashed three or four times during my playthrough. I'm hoping it was just the game being buggy and not the PS3...

 

Anyway, here's the breakdown. Blue units went into the final mission. Ruben "Sandwich" might as well get the MVP award, since he went from being the sole survivor in the tutorial mission to the endgame volunteer. He also eked out one more kill than The Fish, thanks to her sitting out Operation Flying Hawk. Won't be making that mistake again.

 

PROGRESS ON XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN (PLAYTHROUGH 1/5: EASY MODE)

 

ALIVE

HEAVY/PSI OP: Ruben “Sandwich” Lopez (Kills: 41)

HEAVY/PSI OP: James “J.T.” Turner (Kills: 11)

HEAVY: Sharon “Shay” Willis (Kills: 3)

ASSAULT/PSI OP: William “Slick Willie” Clarke (Kills: 36)

ASSAULT: Harry “Hooch” Hall (Kills: 29)

SUPPORT: Karl Lange (Kills: 2)

SUPPORT: Ochieng “Drug Dealer” Farisani (Kills: 2)

SNIPER: Sarah “The Fish” Carpenter (Kills: 40)

SNIPER/PSI OP: Hiroki “Wasted Spot” Suzuki (Kills: 12)

SNIPER: Sean O’Connor (Kills: 1)

SNIPER: Erin Kelly (Kills: 4)

 

KILLED IN ACTION

SUPPORT/PSI OP: Tracy “Trace” O’Reilly (Kills: 9) – died in an explosion, alongside Wells (Operation Flying Hawk)

SUPPORT/PSI OP: Rachel “Soccer Mom” Wells (Kills: 7) – died in an explosion, alongside O’Reilly (Operation Flying Hawk)

SUPPORT: Arne “Ice” Berg (Kills: 3) – died by sectopod; bled out because ALL MY SUPPORTS ARE DEAD (Operation Flying Hawk)

 

MISSION: COMPLETE

 

Not sure when I'll begin my next playthrough. I mostly just wanted to get a feel for the game again. There are all sorts of things that are different than XCOM 2, like how reloading works, and having to buy individual armor upgrades. Also, Snipers are GODS. That, I do remember.

 

37 minutes ago, Jens said:

I've heard the rumor that Cass will hack me, change my name to "Chicken Jens" and edit every post I made to "bok bok bok" once I remove Darkest Dungeon from my list.

 

@Briste removed Darkest D from his list too. ?

Edited January 21, 2019 by Cassylvania

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[Briste]

18 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I forgot how bullshit that final room can be.

I learned how to cheese that room unintentionally and then did it on all subsequent playthoughs since it worked so well. I love the snipers and always brought two on every mission. You can have two snipers set up outside the final door and have your assault guy run in to see the Ethereal. Then with double shot (and some RNG luck) your snipers can take him out no problem without another alien in the room even moving. The final room in XCOM 2 was much harder for me.

 

18 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

@Briste removed Darkest D from his list too. ?

I'm actually going to be adding it back since Space Hulk fucked me again. I mentioned it to you when we got your XCOM MP trophy, but the game crashed on me about 10k kills in.....I'm taking a break from that now. On the bright side though, it freed up my Vita to start on Darkest Dungeon sooooo...you can un-chicken me!

 

How about those football games yesterday!? I needed the night to calm my nerves from the Patriots game. I didn't think they were going to pull it off the way they forgot to send the defense out in the 4th quarter. Thank goodness Brady is Brady. The officiating yesterday was horrible in both games with that no-call in the Saints game being the most egregious. I can't say that cost the Saints the game though...that no-call on the face-mask against Goff forced the Rams to kick a FG instead of having a new set of downs to try for the TD, plus Payton's mismanagement of the play calling and clock management was awful. He left the door open for the Rams to come back and they did so good for them. Also....what is wrong with Gurley? Only four carries? Why was CJ Anderson in there so much? I know Gurley was banged up towards the end of the season...but don't even make him active if he can only handle four carries.

 

It would be poetic if the Patriots can pull this off again and Brady retires. His career would be bookended by Super Bowl victories over the Rams. I mean he's coming back next year so it won't happen...but it'd be a pretty neat story.

 

Up next for me is Blackwood Crossing...do I need to bust out the tissues?

[Cassylvania]

18 hours ago, Jens said:

I don't know if I remember correctly, but their reviewer got fired because he plagiarized someone else's review, and I think it was Dead Cells. After that they checked more of his work and found plenty..So I guess it's a meme now.

 

Ah, makes sense. I'm used to people hating on IGN for giving bad reviews to good games, but they seemed very positive about that one.

 

18 minutes ago, Briste said:

I learned how to cheese that room unintentionally and then did it on all subsequent playthoughs since it worked so well. I love the snipers and always brought two on every mission. You can have two snipers set up outside the final door and have your assault guy run in to see the Ethereal. Then with double shot (and some RNG luck) your snipers can take him out no problem without another alien in the room even moving. The final room in XCOM 2 was much harder for me.

 

Oh, XCOM 2's final room is ridiculous. Even with save scumming, you need pretty good luck to take out all of the enemies before you get overwhelmed.

 

22 minutes ago, Briste said:

How about those football games yesterday!? I needed the night to calm my nerves from the Patriots game. I didn't think they were going to pull it off the way they forgot to send the defense out in the 4th quarter. Thank goodness Brady is Brady. The officiating yesterday was horrible in both games with that no-call in the Saints game being the most egregious. I can't say that cost the Saints the game though...that no-call on the face-mask against Goff forced the Rams to kick a FG instead of having a new set of downs to try for the TD, plus Payton's mismanagement of the play calling and clock management was awful. He left the door open for the Rams to come back and they did so good for them. Also....what is wrong with Gurley? Only four carries? Why was CJ Anderson in there so much? I know Gurley was banged up towards the end of the season...but don't even make him active if he can only handle four carries.

 

It would be poetic if the Patriots can pull this off again and Brady retires. His career would be bookended by Super Bowl victories over the Rams. I mean he's coming back next year so it won't happen...but it'd be a pretty neat story.

 

It was surprising to see both games go to OT, after they initially looked like they were going to be blowouts. And I hate the Saints more than any team in the NFL, but yeah, they got screwed over by that no-call. Still, props to the Rams for hanging in there, on the road, and stringing together some really impressive drives at the end of the game. And Zuerlein for making two of the most clutch field goals I've ever seen. (I know the Vikings would've missed both of those.)

 

At no point in the Patriots game did I think KC was going to win. It was stupid of them to leave Brady that much time on the clock (and arguably the same goes for the Patriots, who could've chewed up more clock than they did). But as soon as the Patriots won the coin flip, you had to know it was over. You can only keep a good man down for so long.

 

That's why I think you'll like what I did with your character in XCOM. (Yeah, I know I said I wasn't sure when I'd begin my next playthrough, but what I really meant was, "I'm not sure if it'll be tonight or tomorrow morning.") Now, apologies to the PSNP gals, but the game screwed me over with 13 male soldiers and only two female -- and I had to make Jens a girl because Jenny Chicken was too good of a name to pass up (as was Ava Lynch). So, congrats to those of you who made it on the team! I'm going to try to beat Classic with only 15 soldiers, but I still have some open spots...

 

PROGRESS ON XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN (PLAYTHROUGH 2/5: CLASSIC, WITH PSNP BROS)

 

A.J. “Spaz” Spazzoli (Sniper) (Kills: 1)

Ava “Avalanche” Lynch (Heavy) (Kills: 7)

C.J. “Mulligan” XLVIII (Heavy) (Kills: 10)

Jenny “Jens” Chicken (Heavy) (Kills: 17)

John “Blazkowicz” Naseem (Support) (Kills: 7)

Kent “Keyblade” Masterson (Assault) (Kills: 13)

Mr. “Joker” Dashforth (Support) (Kills: 1)

Tommy “Briste” Brady (Sniper) (Kills: 15)

 

Not much to report on now. We're in late April. We're likely going to lose either Egypt or Germany, because I forgot how important satellite coverage is in the early game. I'm probably going to skip laser upgrades, so May is going to be a tough month. As for heroics... Well, Jens is single-handedly responsible for two of the four civilian deaths in the first terror mission. There was a floater on the other side of a wall, so she shot a rocket to give Briste a clear line of sight, and ended up blowing up a car that two poor saps were hiding in. (I should also point out that Briste wasn't able to make the shot from his current position, and Jens missed on her subsequent turn, so those deaths weren't even meaningful sacrifices.)

 

With blood on our hands, we press forward!

 

[Briste]

2 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

C.J. “Mulligan” XLVIII (Heavy) (Kills: 10)

Outstanding lol

 

I'm actually looking forward to your press releases on our progress. Good luck men and women. Hopefully on one of your next playthroughs you get more women for the Flight of the Valkyries trophy.

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[Cassylvania]

...Well, we have our first casualty of war. Sorry, @ZombHunter13. We were doing the alien base assault mission, and we had just gotten to the end, where the Sectoid Commander appears. For those of you who haven't played XCOM, these guys can mind control your soldiers, which I think they're almost always programmed to attempt on their first turn. This is bad, because you obviously don't want to have one of your own soldiers attacking you, but it doesn't take affect until the following turn...which means you essentially get two turns to kill the SC before shit hits the fan. Briste did a good amount of damage to the SC, so I sent you in for a killing blow...only to have you miss with a shotgun from one tile away. Oh, and two chryssalids popped out of nowhere and tore your insides out. So, I guess, ironically, you became a zombie, since that's what happens when the chryssalids deposit their eggs inside a corpse, and okay that's gross my bad.

 

On the GOOD side, Naseem was able to capture the SC alive, so your death is not in vain -- and arguably is the better result, because a live alien is worth more than a dead soldier! I mean, maybe. Depends what the good doctor gives us for it.

 

As for the rest of you... Stop missing 80%+ shots.

 

PROGRESS ON XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN (PLAYTHROUGH 2/5: CLASSIC, WITH PSNP BROS)

 

ALIVE

A.J. “Spaz” Spazzoli (Sniper) (Kills: 5)

Ava “Avalanche” Lynch (Heavy) (Kills: 23)

Ayden Bonnette (Support) (Kills: 1)

C.J. “Mulligan” XLVIII (Heavy) (Kills: 21)

Crimson “Cid” Idol (Heavy) (Kills: 8)

James “Lone Ranger” Tonto (Assault) (Kills: 7)

Jenny “Jens” Chicken (Heavy) (Kills: 32)

John “Blazkowicz” Naseem (Support) (Kills: 11)

Kent “Keyblade” Masterson (Assault) (Kills: 18)

Mr. “Joker” Dashforth (Support) (Kills: 6)

Tommy “Briste” Brady (Sniper) (Kills: 36)

 

KILLED IN ACTION

Zomb “Zombie” Hunter (Assault) (Kills: 5) – died by chryssalid (Operation Soaring Dirge)

 

20 hours ago, Briste said:

I'm actually looking forward to your press releases on our progress. Good luck men and women. Hopefully on one of your next playthroughs you get more women for the Flight of the Valkyries trophy.

 

I ended up doing one of those missions where the reward was a soldier, but that turned out to be a guy too. I hate the lack of customization in this game. You can change the name and appearance, but not gender or country of origin. Fortunately, I was able to make most of you the right origin. Briste and C.J. are American, Jens is German, Kent is...South Korean... Yup, totally accurate.

 

We've made it to July now, and we have our first plasma weapon! I'll just be...taking that from your body, Zomb... Thanks.

 

Um, it's kinda gooey...

 

Ew.

[Kent10201]

I’m loving these status reports and couldn’t approve more of my name. Although I’m definitely not South Korean. 

 

So I take back what I said...My Hero Ones Justice is actually really fun. I must have just had a bad first impression cause I played it after a Dead Cells rage quit.  Should have the plat either later today or tomorrow. I only have the grindy trophies left, so that should be fun...said no one ever. 

Edited January 22, 2019 by Kent10201

[SuperSmash5U]

On 12/30/2018 at 7:30 PM, Cassylvania said:

My hope was to finish the year at 100% trophy completion, but Minecraft had other plans. I know the DLC trophies should only take a couple of hours, but I REALLY don't feel like doing them. Minecraft just isn't fun when you have actual stuff to do. That's work. Nobody likes work.

And this is why I have decided to stop caring about 100% trophies on a game. Minecraft is very terrible because the people who localize the game for PS4 put out DLC for this game and trophies for each DLC every two months. I wish they would realize that the people make their own Minecraft fun instead of trying to inject life into the game that it doesn't need. If they did this BS with Dragon Quest Builders 1 instead of localizing Dragon Quest Builders 2, I'd boycott Square-Enix and not buy Kingdom Hearts 3.

 

Busy playing Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix. KH3 comes out in a week, I might pre-purch it for the Midnight Blue DLC keyblade. This is the first time I actually want to sucker myself into getting a silly DLC content. Also, Youtube is pouring out tons of videos showing off leaked cutscenes because some a$$hole broke into a GameStop, stole 30 copies of the game, and sold it for double price to suckers who decided to show off the cool new story in the game. So far I've seen a thumbnail of a scared Aqua and an evil-looking Riku Replica. Just giving you a warning if you watch Youtube. I had to cancel the Kingdom Hearts recommendations.

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[Mesopithecus]

4 hours ago, SuperSmash5U said:

And this is why I have decided to stop caring about 100% trophies on a game. Minecraft is very terrible because the people who localize the game for PS4 put out DLC for this game and trophies for each DLC every two months. I wish they would realize that the people make their own Minecraft fun instead of trying to inject life into the game that it doesn't need. If they did this BS with Dragon Quest Builders 1 instead of localizing Dragon Quest Builders 2, I'd boycott Square-Enix and not buy Kingdom Hearts 3.

 

Busy playing Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix. KH3 comes out in a week, I might pre-purch it for the Midnight Blue DLC keyblade. This is the first time I actually want to sucker myself into getting a silly DLC content. Also, Youtube is pouring out tons of videos showing off leaked cutscenes because some a$$hole broke into a GameStop, stole 30 copies of the game, and sold it for double price to suckers who decided to show off the cool new story in the game. So far I've seen a thumbnail of a scared Aqua and an evil-looking Riku Replica. Just giving you a warning if you watch Youtube. I had to cancel the Kingdom Hearts recommendations.

 

If you're worried about spoilers, thegamersjoint put up a great video last night about how to manage YouTube settings so that these spoiler videos don't pop up in your recommended.  He also mentioned about some Google Chrome add-ons that block spoilers altogether.  It definitely sucks as nearly all of the videos are cut scenes from toward the end of the game - I think someone even put the ending up today

 

The Japanese release of the game is on the 25th so I imagine the spoilers will only get worse as the week goes on

[AJ_Radio]

You guys don't need to 100 percent everything.

 

Eventually you're going to come across a trophy that is either too difficult for you or you didn't jump on the bandwagon when online servers are announced to get shut down.

 

I find that trying to maintain a 100 percent account puts too much stress, plus I feel that a lot of people who dedicate themselves to 100 percent tend to skip games that they may otherwise like.

 

Good example, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. A lot of people bitched about the Mein Leben trophy. Sure, it's difficult and may take you several weeks to get. Nobody should be forced to play through Mein Leben for the platinum. In fact I applaud people who have tried but admitted that it was beyond their skill level, yet they enjoyed the game for what it was and moved on.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Spaz

[Kent10201]

@Spaz Need to, no...want to eventually, yes. I know I probably never will, but it's something that I like to strive for, no matter how unrealistic it may be.

 

Luckily, I don't have any unobtainables on my list and I intend to keep it that way. However, I don't let wanting a 100% account dictate what games I put on my profile. If I'm interested in a game, I'll put it on my list. If anything I use the dream of a 100% account to motivate me to finish harder games, rather than stray away from them. 

[AJ_Radio]

Just now, Kent10201 said:

@Spaz Need to, no...want to eventually, yes. I know I probably never will, but it's something that I like to strive for, no matter how unrealistic it may be.

 

Luckily, I don't have any unobtainables on my list and I intend to keep it that way. However, I don't let wanting a 100% account dictate what games I put on my profile. If I'm interested in a game, I'll put it on my list. If anything I use the dream of a 100% account to motivate me to finish harder games, rather than stray away from them. 

 

Obviously yes. You can finish Dead Space in under a day or it took you close to 10 years to finish it. It's still a goal.

 

I have one unobtainable, Grand Theft Auto V on the PS3. I played the online a bit back in late 2013 when it released, and the last time I checked it was full of modders. The trophy 'Run Like the Wind' is not impossible to get, but it's impossible if you're playing with normal people as Rockstar removed the option to place a bounty on someone.

 

There's a bit of controversy whether or not people should get flagged for that trophy if they earned it after the date in which Rockstar removed bounties. Instead of dealing with that I just chalked it up as a game I will probably never fully finish.

 

I have an alt for 100 percent, and I have another alt for trying out games before I decide to put them on my main.

[Cassylvania]

6 hours ago, Kent10201 said:

So I take back what I said...My Hero Ones Justice is actually really fun. I must have just had a bad first impression cause I played it after a Dead Cells rage quit.  Should have the plat either later today or tomorrow. I only have the grindy trophies left, so that should be fun...said no one ever. 

 

You had me interested until I saw it was a fighter. Cool animations, though!

 

5 hours ago, SuperSmash5U said:

And this is why I have decided to stop caring about 100% trophies on a game. Minecraft is very terrible because the people who localize the game for PS4 put out DLC for this game and trophies for each DLC every two months. I wish they would realize that the people make their own Minecraft fun instead of trying to inject life into the game that it doesn't need. If they did this BS with Dragon Quest Builders 1 instead of localizing Dragon Quest Builders 2, I'd boycott Square-Enix and not buy Kingdom Hearts 3.

 

I'm mostly indifferent to the Minecraft DLCs. On one hand, I agree that it's kinda annoying to go back to the game every few months to knock out another round of trophies. On the other hand, I think it's great that the developers continue to give us more content (for free!), and the trophies rarely take more than 2-3 hours. I hope they stop at 100, though. I don't want my profile to end up being like 90% Minecraft trophies.

 

18 minutes ago, Spaz said:

You guys don't need to 100 percent everything.

 

Eventually you're coming to come across a trophy that is either too difficult for you or you didn't jump on the bandwagon when online servers are announced to get shut down.

 

I find that trying to maintain a 100 percent account puts too much stress, plus I feel that a lot of people who dedicate themselves to 100 percent tend to skip games that they may otherwise like.

 

Good example, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. A lot of people bitched about the Mein Leben trophy. Sure, it's difficult and may take you several weeks to get. Nobody should be forced to play through Mein Leben for the platinum. In fact I applaud people who have tried but admitted that it was beyond their skill level, yet they enjoyed the game for what it was and moved on.

 

My 100% potential might be gone anyway, as I know of no way to get Frenetic Player in Cities without a bug fix or buying a physical copy of the game (which I'm not going to do). Same if I ever get around to playing RE5 or RE6. I'm not going to waste 30+ hours of my life doing what I assume is a crappy multiplayer mode. RE2 looks like it's going to have some annoying trophies too...

 

No big deal, though. I'm still going to try to get 100% in the other games I try.

 

RE4 is surprisingly long. I think I've made it to the final chapter, but I'm like 16 hours into the game. I thought this was like a 9-12 hour campaign. Ashley keeps getting kidnapped, which I really don't mind at all, but I'm having Skyrim-levels of difficulty in managing my inventory. Seems like I always have more grenades than I could probably use. Health items are at a premium, though...

[AJ_Radio]

Just now, Cassylvania said:

RE4 is surprisingly long. I think I've made it to the final chapter, but I'm like 16 hours into the game. I thought this was like a 9-12 hour campaign. Ashley keeps getting kidnapped, which I really don't mind at all, but I'm having Skyrim-levels of difficulty in managing my inventory. Seems like I always have more grenades than I could probably use. Health items are at a premium, though...

 

People expected RE4 to have a platinum because of it's length and difficulty.

 

My Name is Mayo completely threw those concepts straight out the window, and now any shitty game that some hack made over the weekend can get a platinum.

 

There's no balance or standard anymore.

 

As a matter of fact, I value some difficult 100 percent games a lot more than if they had platinums.

 

There are literally tons of people who just outright skip games if they have no platinums. Capcom of course is no stranger to providing trophy lists with no platinums.

[Mesopithecus]

2 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

 

My 100% potential might be gone anyway, as I know of no way to get Frenetic Player in Cities without a bug fix or buying a physical copy of the game (which I'm not going to do).

 

I'm not sure if this would be something you'd be interested in at some point, but someone posted a method to roll back digital games to prior patches.  Might be a way to get Frenetic Player if it doesn't get fixed in a future patch.  I've linked the thread below just in case it helps

 

 

Edited January 23, 2019 by Mesopithecus

[Briste]

So I started up Darkest Dungeon on my Vita last night since I'm 86'ing Space Hulk for the time being. I'm not sure I want to play this game on the Vita since the screen is pretty small and I think I'm missing reading some good info. I played for about an hour and before I get too far I wanted to ask...should I play the game without the DLC first? I tried to start the game up with it and it gave me a warning that it significantly enhances the difficulty and is not for beginners. Also, I'm playing on the base difficulty...is it that much harder if I start on a higher difficulty? I really like it so far...I'm having trouble with traps and understanding how 'stress' works...but it seems like an interesting dynamic that I'll enjoy. Any N00b pointers for me?

 

Also, Blackwood Crossing is pretty eerie so far...I ended up restarting the game after about 15 minutes because I didn't understand what the puzzle was asking and I thought I missed something. Once I figured out you have to pair up the conversations to proceed it got really interesting. I'm getting nervous it's setting me up for some major tragedy. I had to stop last night in the tree house so I could get the Rayman daily challenges in before bed but I'm looking forward to finishing Blackwood up tonight.

 

13 hours ago, Spaz said:

You guys don't need to 100 percent everything.

 

I'm going to echo @Kent10201...it's a want more than a need. I start every game with the intent of 100% it and provided I have enough skill (SMB) or patience (Space Hulk) I will get there. I do like to challenge myself though and put it at risk. I'm not going to give up on either game anytime soon though. I also have been fortunate to not start a game yet that has an unobtainable trophy. When it comes to selecting games I want to play...it's not really an issue since there are soooo many games that I want to play and I will never have enough time to play them so I don't really feel that bad about skipping over a game with an unobtainable trophy since it's not like I'm hurting for options. If I ever become independently wealthy and can afford to dedicate myself to gaming run into a shortage of options, then I might open my profile to a game I can't 100%. This is my one and only profile so if I play it...it's on here.

 

13 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

My 100% potential might be gone anyway, as I know of no way to get Frenetic Player in Cities without a bug fix or buying a physical copy of the game (which I'm not going to do).

Is the physical copy not available on Gamefly? 

[SuperSmash5U]

15 hours ago, Spaz said:

You guys don't need to 100 percent everything.

 

Eventually you're going to come across a trophy that is either too difficult for you or you didn't jump on the bandwagon when online servers are announced to get shut down.

 

I find that trying to maintain a 100 percent account puts too much stress, plus I feel that a lot of people who dedicate themselves to 100 percent tend to skip games that they may otherwise like.

 

Good example, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. A lot of people bitched about the Mein Leben trophy. Sure, it's difficult and may take you several weeks to get. Nobody should be forced to play through Mein Leben for the platinum. In fact I applaud people who have tried but admitted that it was beyond their skill level, yet they enjoyed the game for what it was and moved on.

 

Yeah, I think Cassy scolded me about being a perfectionist months ago.

[Cassylvania]

18 hours ago, Spaz said:

People expected RE4 to have a platinum because of it's length and difficulty.

 

It really should. I'm now 20 HOURS into the game, and still have more to go.

 

Oh, and a second playthrough on the highest difficulty. Hooray.

 

16 hours ago, Mesopithecus said:

I'm not sure if this would be something you'd be interested in at some point, but someone posted a method to roll back digital games to prior patches.  Might be a way to get Frenetic Player if it doesn't get fixed in a future patch.  I've linked the thread below just in case it helps

 

 

Oh, neat! So it's doable. Just...really confusing. We'll keep that in mind if I get a little closer to the platinum. The 100% is still not likely, though, since I don't like the idea of wasting 400+ hours of my PS4's already limited life on idle play.

 

5 hours ago, Briste said:

So I started up Darkest Dungeon on my Vita last night since I'm 86'ing Space Hulk for the time being. I'm not sure I want to play this game on the Vita since the screen is pretty small and I think I'm missing reading some good info. I played for about an hour and before I get too far I wanted to ask...should I play the game without the DLC first? I tried to start the game up with it and it gave me a warning that it significantly enhances the difficulty and is not for beginners. Also, I'm playing on the base difficulty...is it that much harder if I start on a higher difficulty? I really like it so far...I'm having trouble with traps and understanding how 'stress' works...but it seems like an interesting dynamic that I'll enjoy. Any N00b pointers for me?

 

Do NOT play with the DLC. Crimson Court is brutal and completely changes some of the fundamentals of the game, while Color of Madness is insanely difficult to finish if you're not prepared. Fortunately, I think they're both like XCOM's DLC, where you have to "accept" the side mission to actually initiate the DLC. I'm not 100% sure about that (I know CoM has a mini boss that sometimes appears in regular dungeons), but I know you can add either DLC to an existing campaign, because that's what I did.

 

I don't know exactly how Darkest D's "difficulty" works. It's not what you think. When I played, there was only one difficulty (Darkest) and NG+ (Stygian). Radiant is a new "easy" mode. From what I understand, it doesn't change anything except how quickly your characters level up. The amount of monsters you face and the damage they do remains the same. Ultimately, that's really only going to help you in the early game (level 6 is the max level), so feel free to play on either difficulty. You'll end up in the same place before long.

 

I'll try to explain traps. There are two kinds: the ones on the floor (that you trigger by stepping on), and the ones that are activated by standing objects/curios. For the ones on the floor, you can actually see them before you step on them (or on the mini map, if you get a Scouting chance). Each class has a certain % chance of disarming the trap, if you move close to the trap and select that character. The "rogue" classes (e.g. Grave Robber) are the best for that. Curios are different. The game doesn't explain this, but some of the curios need to be "cleansed" before you can open them. Not doing so can trigger a trap or give you a lesser reward. You can experiment with what items you need to cleanse certain objects, or you can just bookmark this page, which is a godsend: https://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Curio

 

Stress is harder to explain, but it's just as important as health. When the stress bar fills up (to 100), your character will either gain an affliction or a virtue. A virtue will put their stress back at 0 and give them a useful buff for the rest of the dungeon. An affliction...will do bad things. It also increases the stress for the other members in your party. If the stress bar fills up a second time (to 200), they suffer a heart attack and reach Death's Door (where a single hit can kill them), or they might die outright. Managing your stress is probably the most important part of the game. For that, I would really recommend having a Jester on longer dungeons.

 

As for tips... Like @Jens and I have said before, one of the great things about the game is that every class is useful, and most party combinations can work. You can equip each character with four skills, and the game will show you their most effective position(s) based on those skills, but experiment with different skills and classes to see what works best for you. I personally love Plague Doctors and Vestals, but they're generally best in the back rows, so I rarely got to try out the Arbalest, which is Jens' favorite. There's really no game over either... Unlike XCOM, where you could technically "lose" if the aliens get too far ahead, you can always recruit new party members and take on easier missions to build back up your army. Party members are also more expendable than XCOM soldiers, so don't fret if you wipe every now and then.

 

If you're having trouble, stick to the Ruins for a while. The other dungeons can be a nightmare -- especially on higher levels.

 

Lastly, get a good feel for what to bring into each dungeon. If it's a short dungeon, 8-12 food, a stack of torches, and a shovel or two is good. Double that for longer dungeons. Just NEVER be caught without a shovel. When you get to NG+, you're going to want to stick to medium/long dungeons, because each "successful" dungeon takes one week, regardless of the length. That means more loot in the same amount of in-game time, which is critical. You might as well get used to that in NG. Also, don't be afraid to bail out a dungeon. Your goal in the early game is loot, and you can only get loot if your dudes make it back alive.

 

5 hours ago, Briste said:

I'm going to echo @Kent10201...it's a want more than a need. I start every game with the intent of 100% it and provided I have enough skill (SMB) or patience (Space Hulk) I will get there. I do like to challenge myself though and put it at risk. I'm not going to give up on either game anytime soon though. I also have been fortunate to not start a game yet that has an unobtainable trophy. When it comes to selecting games I want to play...it's not really an issue since there are soooo many games that I want to play and I will never have enough time to play them so I don't really feel that bad about skipping over a game with an unobtainable trophy since it's not like I'm hurting for options. If I ever become independently wealthy and can afford to dedicate myself to gaming run into a shortage of options, then I might open my profile to a game I can't 100%. This is my one and only profile so if I play it...it's on here.

 

That's how I feel too. I'm never going to get to all the games I want to play, so having reasons like unobtainable trophies or a crappy multiplayer mode makes the decision a little easier. I still want to play all the Resident Evil games, though, so I might eventually accept having RE5 or RE6 on my account, knowing I'll never 100% them.

 

5 hours ago, Briste said:

Is the physical copy not available on Gamefly? 

 

It is, but it's at "very low availability," which means I might never get the game. In fact, it WAS on my GameFly list, but they sent me my second choice instead. And I'm just going to go ahead and spoil what that game is, because I have a hilarious true story to tell.

 

So, the game is Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back. Why would I play this? Well, I need a game with a bad reputation for TTIHAG, and what series is more notorious for coming out with bad games than BUBSY? So, I got it in the mail last night, and I opened it up to make sure they sent me the right game -- and not something good, like Resident Evil 2 or Kingdom Hearts 3. They did, so I set it aside, went to bed, and I'm not even kidding when I say I had a dream where I opened the package to find a copy of Bubsy 3D that was required playing for the 100%. Like, guys, I know I sometimes joke around, but I'm 100% serious about this. This was an actual dream I had last night that physically made me wake up in a cold sweat.

 

That bobcat is still wreaking havoc in my head today...

Edited January 23, 2019 by Cassylvania

[Cassylvania]

The PSNP Bros have come out victorious against the alien scum! Allow me to recount our tale...

 

Kent's arrogance in the final mission was unmatched. The way that level is designed, there's a "middle" area, and two side areas where enemies spawn. I think the game expects you to either send your troops down the middle (so you're forced to fight enemies on both sides at the same time) or split them up (either two per section or three per side). Well, expectations are for chumps, so I sent everybody down the left hallway. It was hilarious watching the six of you wreck everything in your wake. All the aliens were LITTLE BABIES with 4 or 5 HP, and you guys were doing 15+ damage with your plasma guns. However, something I did not know is that you actually HAVE to kill all the aliens in each room to advance to the next room, so Kent was like, "I got this, guys," and decided to solo the right hallway. That is when the chryssalids spawned.

 

We learned our lesson from Zombie's death, though. Kent immediately came running back to his friends, after shotgunning (and dodging) his way through three aliens. A chryssalid gave chase, only to be gunned down by Tom Brady. Goo splattered all over Kent's Titan Armor, but he was unfazed! (Jens made him take a bath, though.) A.J. picked off the final asshole and we moved onto the next room, and yes I am writing this as I play through the level, so anything could happen next.

 

I decided to stick to my left only strategy. This is different than my right only strategy that I usually use in video games when I reach a maze or dungeon or some other confusing section where I don't want to get turned around by mistake.

 

Jens opens the door, only to be greeted by a thin man! Confronted with six HEAVILY ARMORED SUPER SOLDIERS HOLDING PLASMA WEAPONS, the thin man screams like a little girl and runs away. 

 

"I got this," Kent says again, unleashing a Run & Gun attack and rushing the open doorway.

 

"No, you fool!" Ava tries to warn him, but Keyblade Masterson doesn't give a shit. He didn't select Close Combat specialization for nothing!

 

The thin man's eyes grow wide and then explode out the back of his head as Kent pulls the trigger. A cloud of toxic gas fills the air. Everybody looks at Blazkowicz, who shrugs shamelessly, and they follow Kent into the next room.

 

Two mutons and a berserker charge Jens! Fortunately, the bigger they are, the dumber they are, and she easily Mind Controls the berserker. He will come in use later. Meanwhile, Kent exchanges blows with one of the mutons, putting him down for good, and Ava picks off the other. Blazkowciz is on healing duty because RNG really screwed me over that round...

 

Meanwhile, I have advanced knowledge of the game, because I know two sectopods are waiting for us just up ahead. We send our little pet berserker ahead first... He immediately gets blown to smithereens. We laugh and reload our weapons as we prepare to take out these AT-ST wannabes.

 

Unfortunately, SOMEBODY forgot to do a head count, because two more mutons spawn from the side! Ava unleashes a rocket that I...really wanted to save for the sectopods...and the snipers take aim! Both goons fall without incident.

 

The sectopods have had it with our shit, shooting a nuke that puts Kent in critical condition and puts Blazkowicz in a panic! Blazkowicz fires widely into the air, hitting nothing, and I quietly go to reload my save...

 

"No, you fool!" Ava says -- this time, to me -- and slaps the controller out of my hand. With HEAT ammo in her pocket, she charges forward and fires a barrage of bullets from the balcony at one of the sectopods, doing 18 damage! The snipers are in a bad position to follow up with more damage. I realize my only choice is to move Jens, but she's already been hurt thanks to Kent's careless actions earlier in the room. Still, I know I can always reload my save, so I send Jens scurrying towards a pillar! She's fired upon, but dodges the attack, and then counters with RIFT -- THE MOST POWERFUL AREA-OF-EFFECT ATTACK IN THE GAME!

 

"That's bullshit!" the first sectopod cries, as he's torn apart by what I can only assume is sci-fi magic.

 

"Not as bullshit as this," Tom Brady replies. Already a legend, this man with over 65 confirmed kills takes to the sky, using the Archangel Armor that I always forget he has. He whips out a pistol in midair and takes his shot. Despite only a 20% chance of getting a critical, he does more than his expected 2 points of damage (hey, I didn't feel like wasting money on a Plasma Pistol), destroying the sectopod outright! Angel of Death pops. Good thing too, because A.J. wouldn't have been able to do anything that turn.

 

Blazkowicz revives Kent, who has been in this situation before. I honestly have no clue how this madman has survived 20+ missions. Brady and A.J. join Ava on the balcony, as no doubt more aliens have spawned up ahead. Blazkowicz uses the last of his medkits on Jens, as she is our volunteer for this mission, and we will lose if she dies.

 

Despite waiting a few turns while reloading and re-positioning, the aliens don't seem to be coming to us. A.J. tosses a Battle Scanner up ahead, but still nothing in sight. Finally, I give the order to Kent to do what he does best: charge in with no consideration for his own life. He happily complies. This time, though, I give him the backup of two women in armor. Kent doesn't complain. Blazkowciz tags along in the back, while the snipers cover them from the balcony.

 

The aliens never spawn. This is odd. Jens is at the final door now, but it's locked -- just like before. Did we not kill something? I think about it and realize we only fought one thin man. There should've been three. They always come in threes. Sighing, I tell Kent he has to go back. The others can stay. Fortunately, I am an XCOM expert, and Kent will be fine, despite only having half HP and no backup.

 

Kent waves at the snipers as he passes them by. A.J. bets Brady $10 that they never see Kent again. Brady takes that bet.

 

"Got something over here!" Kent says, seemingly to himself, as he opens a door and sees two thin men on the other side. They take shelter behind a large structure and Kent does the same. Unfortunately for the thin men, they only have 4 HP -- while Kent's Alien Grenade does 5 guaranteed damage! With a single grenade, he takes both of the bastards out, and TWO FREAKIN' BERSERKERS INSTANTLY SPAWN IN FRONT OF THE GIRLS AND BLAZKOWICZ, who are waiting at the final door. So, that's how that works...

 

Jens wastes no time in using Mind Control on the other, while Ava tosses a grenade at the other. It doesn't do much damage to the steroid-infused behemoth, but it does destroy the creature's cover, giving the snipers an easy shot! You would think. Both A.J. and Brady miss, despite a 65% and 85% chance, respectively. Blazkowicz does some damage, but not enough to kill it. Fortunately, the alien wastes a turn attacking his mind-controlled brethren. Ava wipes him from the face of the earth.

 

With only the final room up ahead -- and eager to try out Briste's new strategy -- Kent and the snipers leap from the balcony and hurry across the wasteland of scattered sectopod pieces to join the others. They're kinda slow, though, and with Mind Control only lasting four turns (and no way to target that enemy until it wears off), we make the beserker go stand in a corner. And toss a grenade. At himself. Which kills him.

 

Kinda would've preferred sending him into the final room alone, but this works too...

 

We reload one last time while Kent catches up. Once in place, I signal to Blazkowicz, who triggers the cutscene. We're forced to watch it, despite having seen it about twenty-five times in our lives. Really, I'm giving the game about a 50/50 chance of crashing this point. Sometimes it waits for the next cutscene.

 

An ethereal with 25 HP is all that stands between us and victory. Yeah, there are some other aliens too, but the big bitch is all that matters.

 

Despite only having a 35% chance of hitting the boss, Jens does a normal attack, as Holo-Targeting gives everybody else increased accuracy against that target. Brady appreciates that, doing 10 damage right off the bat! A.J. follows up with 9 damage! Bitch only has 6 damage left. We know what must be done. Ava nods. Blazkowicz nods. Even the dead, mind-controlled berserker nods, although that might just be his head rolling across the floor.

 

Kent pushes his way to the front of the group and unleashes Run & Gun... One. Last. Time. Triggering the ENTIRE ROOM, which would be EXTREMELY BAD IF HE MISSES THIS SHOT, Kent rushes the boss and fires a shotgun blast that blows the alien scum all the way back to his home planet!

 

"Get off my plane," Kent says. Nobody is sure why he said that. Nobody is really sure why Kent does anything he does. That's just been the Kent way, ever since the first mission.

 

"Well, I'm hungry," says Blazkowicz, and the others agree. They turn around and head back to home base to get an ADVENT burger. Mmm.

 

PROGRESS ON XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN (PLAYTHROUGH 2/5: CLASSIC, WITH PSNP BROS)

 

ALIVE

A.J. “Spaz” Spazzoli (Sniper) (Kills: 14)

Ava “Avalanche” Lynch (Heavy) (Kills: 37)

Ayden Bonnette (Support) (Kills: 1)

Baphomet’s “Darling” Husband (Support) (Kills: 11)

C.J. “Mulligan” XLVIII (Heavy) (Kills: 27)

Crimson “Cid” Idol (Heavy) (Kills: 12)

Edgar “Eigen” Spaceman (Sniper/Gifted) (Kills: 4)

James “Lone Ranger” Tonto (Assault) (Kills: 7)

Jenny “Jens” Chicken (Heavy/Gifted) (Kills: 38)

John “Blazkowicz” Naseem (Support) (Kills: 20)

Kent “Keyblade” Masterson (Assault) (Kills: 27)

Mr. “Joker” Dashforth (Support) (Kills: 7)

Tommy “Briste” Brady (Sniper) (Kills: 61)

 

KILLED IN ACTION

Zomb “Zombie” Hunter (Assault) (Kills: 5) – died by chryssalid (Operation Soaring Dirge)
 

MISSION: COMPLETE

[Kent10201]

So based on what I just read, I’m a badass with no consideration for his own life. I can live with that. 

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[Darling Baphomet]

Damn, my darling husband is a badass, apparently.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Darling Baphomet

[AJ_Radio]

@Cassylvania Keep me updated on Batman: Arkham City. Been wanting to get those challenges out of the way in the near future. May come back to play this game in February.

 

The DLC challenges are going to suck however.

 

----

 

You guys know any good RTS (Real Time Strategy), city builder games?

 

I've been wanting a Simcity esque type of game for a good while now.

 

There's a railroad tycoon game that I've heard is fairly decent from a few people.

 

There's The Banner Saga type games but that's more tactical strategy.

 

So many games, so little time....

Edited January 26, 2019 by Spaz