Cassylvania's Miserable Little Pile of Platinums

[Cassylvania]

9 minutes ago, Briste said:

I guess I just don't understand why you can't do that same thing going forward on your existing account. The future is before you whether it's on this account or you change to a new one. I mean, it really doesn't matter to me if you change your handle every 3-6 months for as long as you play, it won't change what I'm playing. It's just hard to be interested in talking about your profile if we know it will be scrapped in the near future to start over again only to have the same conversations again. I feel like a lot of the people I've seen on here are really invested in their profile and it would be really hard to start over. For you, it's almost like changing underwear how often you start over, so it's understandable how people are losing interest in your trophy journey since it's just recycled and rehashed...I hope this one works out for you though so good luck!

 

That's how I feel too. I mean, I kinda get where he's coming from, because I'd start a new account all the time with some self-imposed rule (usually, "I'm only going to play good games!"), but that was before I joined this site, and when there was a much smaller library of games to choose from. I didn't mind playing through Demon's Souls multiple times, because it was fun seeing how quickly I could earn the platinum, or how many different classes I could master. These days, I (and I assume most of you) are more interested in the collection of games, not individual platinums. Sure, some people work towards individual platinums -- because that's what we do as gamers -- but it's the profile that matters. That's why making a new account all the time is pointless.

 

I guess for me, if I were to do it all over again, there are probably some games I'd platinum a second time. XCOM 2, for sure. Maaaybe Darkest D. I dunno about Dark Souls. I feel I've kinda run my course with that series. I doubt I could do Shantae again for the same reason. And I'm sure I've played some other games, but the point is that these are among my favorites on the console, and even I would be hard-pressed to attempt them again. No way in hell would I play shit like Phil or Bridge Constructor again, just because I own them digitally. I can't even imagine playing an Artifex Mundi game a second time, despite how short/easy they are. They just...don't lend themselves well to repeat playthroughs.

 

CJ, you should just stick with what you have. You already have more platinums than most people on this site. You'll surpass me within the next two months. But if you want to change your gaming habits, then just do it on your existing account. You think any of us have the same habits as we did when we started our accounts? I don't know about you guys, but I was a lot more receptive to online games back then. I've never liked them, but I happily played Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and the sequel. I have no idea why I touched Paladins, but I did. (Oh yeah, it was free.) But just because I think online games are a waste of time and I don't get today's obsession with battle royale,  that doesn't mean I'm going to start a brand new profile to reflect that. I'll just, you know...not play any more of those. It's pretty simple, really.

 

35 minutes ago, Briste said:

No Thursday night football tonight, but that doesn't stop today from being interesting in the football world. Josh Gordon steps away from the Patriots due to failing the provisions of his reinstatement...actually, I think there is a parallel to be seen here....

 

I noticed your absence after the Steelers game. I didn't watch most of it, but I imagine those last few minutes were heart-wrenching for you. I had to walk away from my TV after the Vikings let the Dolphins come back from being down 21-0. They still pulled out an impressive victory, but then the Redskins and Eagles won their games, and now we have a three-way race for the #6 seed. Unfortunately, almost regardless of how this weekend turns out, Week 17 is still going to decide things. The only way it won't is if the Vikings win and the other two teams lose. If either one wins, or the Vikings lose, I'm going to have to pray to the Norse gods that Kratos probably killed that my boys still pull it out.

 

All of this for a chance to go to Chicago and lose in the playoffs. Yippee.

[Briste]

36 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

I noticed your absence after the Steelers game. I didn't watch most of it, but I imagine those last few minutes were heart-wrenching for you. I had to walk away from my TV after the Vikings let the Dolphins come back from being down 21-0. They still pulled out an impressive victory, but then the Redskins and Eagles won their games, and now we have a three-way race for the #6 seed. Unfortunately, almost regardless of how this weekend turns out, Week 17 is still going to decide things. The only way it won't is if the Vikings win and the other two teams lose. If either one wins, or the Vikings lose, I'm going to have to pray to the Norse gods that Kratos probably killed that my boys still pull it out.

 

All of this for a chance to go to Chicago and lose in the playoffs. Yippee.

It was a hard game for me, because it was the first time I really felt like Brady was losing his magic. The interception he threw was inexcusable for him and that last throw of the game was disappointing. Brady has always had a reputation among non-fans for being soft. I may be a fanboy of his, but he is one tough dude. He always plays hurt, never uses injuries as an excuse and always downplays anything he is suffering through. Contrast that with a guy like Big Ben, who has a reputation for being a tough guy, who makes sure everyone knows everything he's fighting through, and actually misses games from time to time makes me think Brady is a pretty tough guy. But on that last throw, he was bailing out as he threw to avoid contact that wasn't even coming. His pass ended up being too high and the game was over. My hope is that he's got an injury he's fighting through and he's just protecting himself instead of him going full Eli Manning in the pocket and losing that awareness. In years past, I think he absorbs that hit in the pocket and makes the throw. They still have a shot at the #2 seed if Houston loses one of these last two games. I think the Texans probably will lose in Philly this week, which doesn't bode well for your Vikings. I won't lie, they made me nervous when they let Miami stick around for a while too, but they finished really strong. They really committed to the run and looked good. If they can stick to that formula, I think they'll do some damage in the playoffs. The Rams and Saints have looked vulnerable and I don't trust Da Bears. Even the Chiefs have come back down to Earth...the best team may end up being the Chargers. It should be a pretty exciting last two weeks of the season. I made my fantasy Super Bowl so I can't wait for the weekend!

Edited December 20, 2018 by Briste

[James_Tonto]

Hey just wanna say congrats on your 145th Platinum. God of War (2018) was an amazing game for me, one of the more 'chill' trophy hunting experiences I've had this year. 2018's been a really good year for games, Spider-Man, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. Guacamelee 2 etc. Also in recognition of GoW being a really great game, I too will share some art.

Source Link.

[Kent10201]

4 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

 

That's how I feel too. I mean, I kinda get where he's coming from, because I'd start a new account all the time with some self-imposed rule (usually, "I'm only going to play good games!"), but that was before I joined this site, and when there was a much smaller library of games to choose from. I didn't mind playing through Demon's Souls multiple times, because it was fun seeing how quickly I could earn the platinum, or how many different classes I could master. These days, I (and I assume most of you) are more interested in the collection of games, not individual platinums. Sure, some people work towards individual platinums -- because that's what we do as gamers -- but it's the profile that matters. That's why making a new account all the time is pointless.

 

I guess for me, if I were to do it all over again, there are probably some games I'd platinum a second time. XCOM 2, for sure. Maaaybe Darkest D. I dunno about Dark Souls. I feel I've kinda run my course with that series. I doubt I could do Shantae again for the same reason. And I'm sure I've played some other games, but the point is that these are among my favorites on the console, and even I would be hard-pressed to attempt them again. No way in hell would I play shit like Phil or Bridge Constructor again, just because I own them digitally. I can't even imagine playing an Artifex Mundi game a second time, despite how short/easy they are. They just...don't lend themselves well to repeat playthroughs.

 

CJ, you should just stick with what you have. You already have more platinums than most people on this site. You'll surpass me within the next two months. But if you want to change your gaming habits, then just do it on your existing account. You think any of us have the same habits as we did when we started our accounts? I don't know about you guys, but I was a lot more receptive to online games back then. I've never liked them, but I happily played Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and the sequel. I have no idea why I touched Paladins, but I did. (Oh yeah, it was free.) But just because I think online games are a waste of time and I don't get today's obsession with battle royale,  that doesn't mean I'm going to start a brand new profile to reflect that. I'll just, you know...not play any more of those. It's pretty simple, really.

Exactly this, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about starting fresh multiple times but in the end I always decide not to. I was very similar in that I used to play tons of online games. If you look at my profile, you’ll find Star Wars Battlefront, Tom Clancy games, Destiny and others all lined up barely touched.

 

I’ve always wanted to go after a 100% profile but I’ve pretty much accepted that it’ll never happen because of my previous “errors” but I couldn’t care less. To me it’s more so about if there’s a chance of me being able to finish a game. Right now I still have no unobtainables by some miracle, so I’ve been able to stay content even if it’s not as “perfect” as I want it to be. I just keep working on it one day at a time and I think recently it’s been reflecting my actual interests a lot more, while still trying to finish old games. I’ve been motivated to go for that goal because of it, no matter how unrealistic it may be. 

 

In other news, I watched the entire first season of Dexter in two days. Fucking incredible. My mind is still blown by that final episode. I can’t wait to see where it goes. 

[Cassylvania]

27 minutes ago, Kent10201 said:

In other news, I watched the entire first season of Dexter in two days. Fucking incredible. My mind is still blown by that final episode. I can’t wait to see where it goes. 

 

Oh, if you only knew... ?

 

Nah, the first season of Dexter is great. The second season is probably my favorite season of any show ever, and the fourth season is arguably even better. I cannot stress this enough, though: do NOT binge watch beyond season 4. If you really want to watch the whole series, take a break after that point. I personally liked seasons 5 and 6 more than most people, but the writing clearly begins to tank around then. It's actually heartbreaking to watch, because the show is so incredible in the beginning.

 

I won't go into spoilers, but I will say Doakes is probably my favorite antagonist in the entire series. I've named several video game characters after him, and even used a certain line from him for my phone notification... The looks I get in public are great.

 

Just finished Adventure Mode of Slime Rancher. Got some oddball trophies I still need to do, but I'll wait until my next platinum to worry about Rush Mode. I really have no idea how long that trophy will take.

 

Plans for this weekend: Seasons After Fall, last minute Christmas shopping, and hopefully a Vikings win. Going home too, so maybe I'll have better internet speed. Wouldn't mind downloading some games onto my PS4 to begin playing in January...

Edited December 21, 2018 by Cassylvania

[Kent10201]

1 hour ago, Cassylvania said:

 

Oh, if you only knew... 

 

Nah, the first season of Dexter is great. The second season is probably my favorite season of any show ever, and the fourth season is arguably even better. I cannot stress this enough, though: do NOT binge watch beyond season 4. If you really want to watch the whole series, take a break after that point. I personally liked seasons 5 and 6 more than most people, but the writing clearly begins to tank around then. It's actually heartbreaking to watch, because the show is so incredible in the beginning.

Oh I've heard. Every time I mentioned to anyone that I was watching it they warned me that it starts to go downhill. I'll probably take a break after season 4 and finish up something else but for now I can't stop watching. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Kent10201

[SuperSmash5U]

6 hours ago, Briste said:

people are losing interest in your trophy journey since it's just recycled and rehashed

Okay, I promise I won't post in this thread anymore unless it's related to something Cassy is talking about. I guess the trophy journey is only interesting to me, sorry to bore you guys. See ya in 2019, maybe. *waves*

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[Cassylvania]

9 hours ago, Jens said:

I guess it pretty much went from normal interest to boredom to annoyance. I mean if you think about it: Can you really blame anyone but yourself on that? Would you care about Cass' profile for example if she starts her profile 15 times, plays the same games, tells the same stories, has the same complaints and so on? Would some "overarching goal" change that completely, especially if it failed 14 times in the past? I somehow doubt it. If it bothers you then you should really just consider sticking with one profile because then there's something to "attach" to, some progress, some change and difference you know

 

It sounds to me like CJ would be better off just playing Nintendo. No account, no trophy system -- just games. Otherwise, what's the point of having a profile if you're just going to start over every two months?

 

I think, for me, I've had three "main" PSN accounts. I had one account in 2009 -- or whenever I bought my first PS3 -- before I realized trophies were a thing. At the time, I just liked the idea of earning a "platinum" for doing everything a game had to offer. I think that's why I kept making new accounts after that, because it was fun to tackle the same challenge multiple times, and the PS library was much smaller than it is now. It wasn't until I started the Mass Effect trilogy that I was like, "Hey, maybe I should try to platinum EVERYTHING I play." I had a bunch of jank games on that account that I'd never want to touch again, so I made a new account in 2011.

 

For my second "main" account, I think I was able to platinum every game I attempted, but I wasn't worried about 100%. I had some discontinued DLC and those Uncharted games where the MP trophies take hundreds of hours, and ain't nobody got time for that. I think I had around 30 platinums when my PS3 died, but I didn't use the forums and I don't even remember what games I played.

 

It's way too late in the PS4's life cycle to start over, CJ. We don't even know if trophies will exist on the PS5, or how they'll be implemented. Based on current trends, I wouldn't be surprised if we're looking at pay-to-trophy games in the future. It seems to me that you're mainly interested in the number of platinums you have, which I think is bizarre when you consider how many times you've started over. Why not just stick with the account that already has over 100 platinums? Or just go back to CJ, which is our favorite account of yours. Just play games for fun instead of setting these arbitrary rules for yourself that -- let's be honest here -- have the life span of somebody in the Trump administration.

 

At any rate, I made it home and I'm ready to enjoy gaming on the big screen once more. I don't want to tease too much into what I have planned for next year, but I was thinking about subscribing to PS Now -- even if just for a few months. If I did that, the obvious primary objective would be XCOM 1, but I'm also looking ahead to some of the older Castlevania games. The biggest one would be Harmony of Despair. There are a couple of online trophies in that game that I'd really want to knock out before the servers go down, so my question is, if i get Castlevania: HoD, who is up for knocking out some jank trophies?

 

You'd be part of the cool club.

[Briste]

1 hour ago, Cassylvania said:

The biggest one would be Harmony of Despair. There are a couple of online trophies in that game that I'd really want to knock out before the servers go down, so my question is, if i get Castlevania: HoD, who is up for knocking out some jank trophies?

Sure, I will. I don't play many without a platinum and we need to for 10 Things I Hate About Gaming. I had Papers, Please but I could change it to this. Who can pass up the chance to be part of the cool club?

[thepeaguy83]

What is a psn profile? But a miserable little pile of trophies!

Got to love Blaustein's localisation.

Edited December 21, 2018 by thepeaguy

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[AJ_Radio]

On 12/3/2018 at 2:31 AM, Jens said:

I don't disagree despite having one myself, I would say upgrading is barely not worth it overall. It was just circumstance for me. My old TV was about to break and when I buy something as big as that I want it to be as future-proof as possible, so a 4K TV it was. And a few weeks later my sister told me that she was browsing the internet for a cheap PS4 and then I upgraded and she could have my old one, so it was just win - kind of win.

 

I just like the options they give you with choosing either the highest possible framerate or the best possible visuals so far. I always disliked that big games always go for the best possible graphics and don't even think about reaching 60 FPS anymore, the Pro fixes that sometimes. I don't think God of War is a better game on the Pro at all, but playing it made me wonder if it would be possible to run like that on a normal one. I thought about what the trade off is, same with Monster Hunter, I would've liked to compare both of them just to see for myself what exactly changed, but I couldn't. So it was just curiosity and no "Ahh sorry for the inferiority" at all

 

If games aren't good enough for someone on a normal PS4 the Pro probably won't fix that, so those people should really invest in a gaming PC.

 

Sort of forgotten about this thread so I didn't respond, so here's a late response.

 

My two main issues with the vanilla PS4:

 

1. The loud fan that blares on when you play certain games like God of War and Assassins Creed Origins. Sounds like I'm not too far from a airline cockpit when I'm on a plane traveling to California.

 

2. Loading times for a good number of AAA games are less than desirable. God of War made a technical achievement with having no loading screens during gameplay, I wish a lot more games had this.

 

---

 

The benefit of the Pro that appeals to me is having higher frames per second while still maintaining a 1080p resolution. But right now with it's $350 - 400 price tag that is just too much money for me to spend. I can visit a gaming store that does it's share of trade ins, and maybe I can get some money if I were to trade in my vanilla PS4. I will still have to pay for the Pro mostly from my own pocket.

 

God of War ran just fine on the PS4, minus the loud blaring fan. I was still amazed with the graphics on the regular PS4, I don't need 4K graphics capability for me to enjoy games.

 

Most people out there, the masses, buy a Pro and then they enjoy the small selection of 5 - 10 games they buy every year. Mostly all AAA titles with Pro enhancements.

 

I am a guy who buys a lot of indie titles and a couple AAA games here and here. The Pro isn't going to benefit most of those games. Old classic game compilations like Castlevania: Requiem don't get any benefit out of the Pro.

 

Games like Knack and Knack 2 appeal to me a lot more than the current crop of crap games that is Battlefield V, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Darksiders 3. I think both of those titles benefit from the Pro but they already look quite good on the original. Marvel's Spider-Man already looks impressive on the vanilla and Slim. Maybe I would be mind blown if I had a 4K Ultra HD TV and PS4 Pro, but graphics is NOT the reason I buy games.

 

I've gone to old games I played in the past some 15 - 20 years ago that have since been given open source treatment and modding treatment. Playing them is more exciting now because these games, while still being very much like the originals, have been given more features and replayability. Age of Empires 2 on Steam is a good example.

 

I would say sorry for this rambling on, but considering that every other post is basically a giant wall of text anyway this shouldn't bother anyone.

[Cassylvania]

On 12/21/2018 at 6:47 PM, thepeaguy said:

What is a psn profile? But a miserable little pile of trophies!

Got to love Blaustein's localisation.

 

You know, this thread has gone through a few hundred names since its conception, but I think I'm going to stick with this one. It just...fits.

 

1 hour ago, Jens said:

Just out of curiosity and laziness, how does a Castlevania online trophy exist, what do you have to do? That sounds pretty out of place.

 

I guess it has online co-op? I dunno. I know there's some dumb trophy that requires a bunch of people working together, and that's not really what you want from an eight year old game.

 

I also heard you can now download PS Now games to your hard drive, which makes it slightly more appealing than a year ago. Apparently it only works with PS2 and PS4 games, though. Not sure what they were thinking by excluding PS3...

 

1 hour ago, Spaz said:

I am a guy who buys a lot of indie titles and a couple AAA games here and here. The Pro isn't going to benefit most of those games. Old classic game compilations like Castlevania: Requiem don't get any benefit out of the Pro.

 

Yeah, I don't think I'd buy a Pro, UNLESS our PS4 dies and I have to either replace it or upgrade. I average, what, maybe 2-3 AAA titles per year? And they're usually ones that came out years ago. I think maybe it'd be hard for me to go back if I had a Pro for a while and got used to it, but right now, I don't feel like I'm missing much.

 

Same with VR. I think it's a nice novelty that could be a lot of fun with a few games for a short amount of time, and I'd certainly like to own one if I had the money, but it's not a good long-term investment. That's why I've slowly been convincing myself that PS Now is the way to go. You get a ton of games that you can play on your existing console, monthly, for the price of a trip to the movies. The games may not look as nice because they're older and not on a fancy machine, but I would argue this is one instance where quantity is better than quality. That's not usually the case with video games.

 

Platinum #146 - Seasons After Fall

 

Fun game, good soundtrack, beautiful graphics, and a trophy list that respects your time. What more could you want? Maybe something a bit longer. I'm always a bit leery about games that can be completed in only a few hours, but I think this is a solid buy if you can get it for under $5. Really liked the voice acting too. I don't always listen to games when I play them (sorry, sound designers), but I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice to Netflix your way through this one. Just enjoy the ride.

[AJ_Radio]

7 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I guess it has online co-op? I dunno. I know there's some dumb trophy that requires a bunch of people working together, and that's not really what you want from an eight year old game.

 

Another problem is it's a PSN game from the PS3/Xbox 360 generation, meaning that it's probably dead.

 

This coming year I plan to do the online trophies for a number of existing games on my trophy list. A few exceptions will be Assassins Creed Brotherhood, Red Dead Redemption, and Uncharted 2 & 3. Just far too much hassle for me to bother with, considering that the original RDR game is awful these days thanks to hackers and modders dominating the online. Always sad to see a once fantastic online mode turn into a big pile of shit because nobody gives a shit.

 

7 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I also heard you can now download PS Now games to your hard drive, which makes it slightly more appealing than a year ago. Apparently it only works with PS2 and PS4 games, though. Not sure what they were thinking by excluding PS3...

 

That's not really logical. It would of been better to do it with PS2 and PS3 games first, and just let downloading those PS4 games as time goes on.

 

If you already bought some of these games either via physical disc or digitally on your hard drive, then don't bother with Playstation Now. I have no intention of using it until I clear out my PS3 backlog.

 

7 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Yeah, I don't think I'd buy a Pro, UNLESS our PS4 dies and I have to either replace it or upgrade. I average, what, maybe 2-3 AAA titles per year? And they're usually ones that came out years ago. I think maybe it'd be hard for me to go back if I had a Pro for a while and got used to it, but right now, I don't feel like I'm missing much.

 

Same with VR. I think it's a nice novelty that could be a lot of fun with a few games for a short amount of time, and I'd certainly like to own one if I had the money, but it's not a good long-term investment. That's why I've slowly been convincing myself that PS Now is the way to go. You get a ton of games that you can play on your existing console, monthly, for the price of a trip to the movies. The games may not look as nice because they're older and not on a fancy machine, but I would argue this is one instance where quantity is better than quality. That's not usually the case with video games.

 

I don't like the way AAA games are going. They are becoming too movie based which is a problem I have, I play games to play not to watch a glorified film done in CGI.

 

One exception is The Order 1886 since I felt the story was somewhat decent and it had good voice acting, accurately portraying the time period it was set in. God of War 2018 I wasn't too big a fan of, Kratos son Arteus annoyed me throughout most of the adventure. Horizon Zero Dawn was quite alright, but like other recent games it draws a lot on drama.

 

Maybe I'm just getting old. But I feel that games like Dead Space and Uncharted 2 crafted a good, compelling story while still offering good gameplay. God of War 3 was a technical achievement and marvel to look at, it was fun taking down the titan Cronos while you were the size of a housefly. God of War 2018 just didn't offer that same satisfaction.

 

VR is still too much for what it actually offers. It should be no more than $100 - 125, right now it only attracts a niche audience because a lot of people don't feel convinced shelling out money to buy it. Then there is the motion sickness I have. I can imagine getting sick while I'm playing Driveclub VR and I'm having to race at tight corners.

 

Playstation Now to me needs to have everything that was offered on the PS3. A game like Super Stardust HD is barely played anymore because it's stuck on the actual PS3, and it's a PSN game which are often thrown to the wayside. Offering that on PS Now could potentially attract a large audience, though unfortunately Housemarque decided to drop out of the arcade genre and focus on other priorities. Playstation All Stars is another game that would benefit from the service. I don't like the cherry picking crap Sony has done with Playstation Now.

 

I haven't checked PS Now for quite a while but the last time I did check I didn't see All Stars on the list. Which is unfortunate, but the servers will shut down this coming January so there's no point in adding that game on there anyway.

[Cassylvania]

15 hours ago, Spaz said:

I don't like the way AAA games are going. They are becoming too movie based which is a problem I have, I play games to play not to watch a glorified film done in CGI.

 

One exception is The Order 1886 since I felt the story was somewhat decent and it had good voice acting, accurately portraying the time period it was set in. God of War 2018 I wasn't too big a fan of, Kratos son Arteus annoyed me throughout most of the adventure. Horizon Zero Dawn was quite alright, but like other recent games it draws a lot on drama.

 

Maybe I'm just getting old. But I feel that games like Dead Space and Uncharted 2 crafted a good, compelling story while still offering good gameplay. God of War 3 was a technical achievement and marvel to look at, it was fun taking down the titan Cronos while you were the size of a housefly. God of War 2018 just didn't offer that same satisfaction.

 

VR is still too much for what it actually offers. It should be no more than $100 - 125, right now it only attracts a niche audience because a lot of people don't feel convinced shelling out money to buy it. Then there is the motion sickness I have. I can imagine getting sick while I'm playing Driveclub VR and I'm having to race at tight corners.

 

Playstation Now to me needs to have everything that was offered on the PS3. A game like Super Stardust HD is barely played anymore because it's stuck on the actual PS3, and it's a PSN game which are often thrown to the wayside. Offering that on PS Now could potentially attract a large audience, though unfortunately Housemarque decided to drop out of the arcade genre and focus on other priorities. Playstation All Stars is another game that would benefit from the service. I don't like the cherry picking crap Sony has done with Playstation Now.

 

I haven't checked PS Now for quite a while but the last time I did check I didn't see All Stars on the list. Which is unfortunate, but the servers will shut down this coming January so there's no point in adding that game on there anyway.

 

So, just some random thoughts here:

• I don't mean games being more like movies, if the quality is good. There's probably a balance that needs to be struck, but I don't think I've ever been put off to a game because it plays less like a game. If I had a bigger complaint with God of War 2018, it's that the combat got kinda stale, and most of the "bosses" were reskins. The Valkyries should've played a bigger role in the main campaign, because that was the best story and combat the game had to offer, IMO.
• I get motion sickness from VR too. That's why I feel, even if I did own a set, that it wouldn't be something I'd be playing for 2-3 hours a day. I'm not sure anything would ever persuade me otherwise.
• Yes, I would've gotten PS Now a long time ago if they weren't cherry-picking their PS3 games. Every few months, I'll go through the list of game selections (it's here, if you want to take a look: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/explore/playstation-now/ps-now-games/), and jot down anything that might interest me. Right now, if I'm ONLY picking games that are at the top of my list, I could MAYBE get ~6 months out of it. They could easily sell me by putting the rest of the PS3 library on there, but it's not quite there yet...
• I actually hated PlayStation All-Stars. I don't say that with a lot of games, but it had one of the biggest fun factor drops of any game I've played on a Sony console. But yeah, it's still not available on PS Now.
• PS Now and PS+ should really be combined, or at least they should give a hefty discount for subscribing to both. I might just trade one for the other, since the free games on PS+ really haven't been worth it for me this year, and I couldn't care less about online play. Renting games, either through PS Now or GameFly, seems like a better long-term deal.

Anyway, it's something to think about after the holidays. For now, I have another announce to make!

 

Platinum #147 - Slime Rancher

 

So, this is an interesting one. As you may or may not know, my favorite kinds of games are the ones where you're given a piece of land and told to make something great out of it, with very little direction or hand-holding. Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing have always appealed to me because you're never really told that you're playing the game wrong. In a shooter, if you miss a shot or get hit and die, the game tells you that you suck by putting you back at a checkpoint. In an RPG, you have to level up or change your strategy. But in games like this -- especially when there's no time limit (more on that in a second) -- you get to tell the game how much effort you want to put into it. You could map out a plan, optimize the layout of your ranch, and try to maximize your profit each day...or you could just goof off. And that was the beauty of the older Harvest Moon games, because it was just as fun to build a successful farm as it was to do the bare minimum to get by. I actually just preferred fishing as my main source of income, and only growing the crops that the girl I wanted to marry liked. There's something very enjoyable about a game that lets you make the rules.

 

Slime Rancher comes close to being a really good game. The slimes are cute. They require some care, but you can set up gardens and auto-feeders to do most of the work for you. I suggest creating largos. You do that by feeding the poop (plort) of one slime to a different kind of slime. Not only do you get plorts of both slime species that way, but they'll eat anything that the original slimes would eat. That means if you have a species that's hard to feed (like tabby slimes...or anything that eats meat, really, since chickens are a pain to raise), you can combine them with something that loves carrots or heart beets, which are super easy to grow or come by. And one nice thing is the trophy list doesn't require you to raise every species of slime, so you could pretty much just stick with what you like, or what's manageable... Some species of slimes are a pain in the ass.

 

Where does the game fall short? Well, the story mode, for one. It's basically non-existent. I'm not going to complain much about that, since games like this are better when you can create your own stories, but the game just kinda...ends, when you do....something. You can still keep playing, sure, but there's not really much of an objective outside of collecting more money. And as much as I hate to praise Yonder for ANYTHING it did, at least that game had, you know, actual NPCs you could talk to, items you could collect, and side missions that weren't simple fetch quests (which is all you get in Slime Rancher). By the time you unlock all of the upgrades in this game, there's not much of a point in them, so I kinda feel like this is one game that's going to get old for most people after 10-15 hours. Now, is it worth $10-15? Yeah, I think so. It's bright and cheerful, the world is a lot of fun to explore, and the first few hours are great because you're always stumbling across little secrets or hidden caves or slimes you haven't seen before, and you'll get excited every time you buy a new upgrade for a corral or garden or your suit. It just...wears off after a while, which is unfortunate, because you're probably still going to be a few hours short of the platinum.

 

And then comes Rush Mode. Oh, boy. Remember how I said that games like this shouldn't have time limits? Well, prepare yourself for the mother of all time limits. This is brutal. They give you FIVE DAYS to make 75,000 gold. You basically have to bank on getting the right fetch quests (so, start praying to the RNG gods), and you have to know exactly where everything is, from the slimes to the foods to the keys to the teleporters. It's just a mad dash to do everything that you were patiently doing over the course of the main campaign, in the matter of a couple hours. I don't really see a way to do this without knowing the game EXTREMELY well, and using a guide. I was able to get 81k on my first try, but I had to look up videos on how to find some of the places, because I had never even reached Ash Isle in the main game, and I backed up my save several times. I highly suggest you do the same.

 

OK. That's more than I usually say for games, but I know this one isn't very popular, and some of you were asking about it. It's probably worth a play if you like farming sims.

[Briste]

On 12/22/2018 at 8:27 PM, Jens said:

And shameless asking @Briste, but how is your time with the Man of Rays so far? Is the speedrun purgatory meddling with your enjoyment of the normal story mode playthrough?  I like it once more to be honest, the online stuff is just so.... tight with its timing for us. Not horribly tight, but I'd like to have maybe one or two more weeks in reserve for it. 

I've actually really enjoyed it so far. I have been mixing in both the story and the challenges, so I haven't gotten sick of either. I'm going to slow down on story mode for a bit now that I have unlocked all the challenges so that I can go back to VC4 as my focus. My only complaint so far is that I find the controls a little sluggish for a platform game. He takes this weird step when he turns around that throws me off. He also doesn't slow down immediately if you take your finger off of the sprint button which has caused a few annoying deaths. Contrast that with the handle of SMB and it's a little lacking in that department. I've gotten a couple of golds, but they are quite challenging. Based on your ghost...you are quite good at this game lol I'm not sure I'll be able to beat you 30 times unless you let me. I do have a couple other friends playing right now though that I seem to be closer in skill to that I'll probably be able to get the trophy from. It's been a good challenge, but nothing impossible

 

On 12/22/2018 at 10:48 PM, Cassylvania said:

You know, this thread has gone through a few hundred names since its conception, but I think I'm going to stick with this one. It just...fits.

I personally like this one the best as well. It works on several different levels.

 

11 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I don't mean games being more like movies, if the quality is good.

I agree. At the end of the day, I'm just looking to be entertained so if the game being like a movie works, then awesome. I know that's not the same for everyone. When I was in high school, I did a project on how video game technology was changing. I compared the N64 to the PS1 and the change from cartridges to CD's and how I thought that the N64 was not going to be a successful due to the limitations of the cartridge. I made a VHS tape where I recorded myself playing games like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time on the N64 and then me playing Final Fantasy VII and Destruction Derby. The part from FFVII I showed was of Cloud's Omnislash and a casting of Knights of the Round, where as for Ocarina of Time is was a battle with the first boss Spider.

 

I loved the FFVII animation for the Knights of the Round and was trying to showcase about how awesome the future would be with those capabilities...I was very surprised to find most people in the class thought that was boring when compared to the other games. Plus they thought the loading times on PS1 were garbage...I proved right over time, however it was eye opening to see how boring people felt random CGI infused into games could be.

 

On 12/20/2018 at 8:49 PM, Kent10201 said:

In other news, I watched the entire first season of Dexter in two days. Fucking incredible. My mind is still blown by that final episode. I can’t wait to see where it goes. 

Late to the party on this...but I was pretty much the same way. I liked Doakes a lot as well, but for me the single greatest season of a show ever was Season 4. That season affected me for days...Season 5 was ok...but then it was kind of downhill for me. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts as you progress through the series.

[SuperSmash5U]

On 12/20/2018 at 2:54 PM, Cassylvania said:

CJ, you should just stick with what you have. You already have more platinums than most people on this site. You'll surpass me within the next two months. But if you want to change your gaming habits, then just do it on your existing account.

 

Well, I could try to earn more platinums on my old account, but I will probably stick to PS Vita platinums on that account because I am not really interested in switch my Vita to another account. There are a bunch of games I am interested in playing on Vita but I am sticking with PS4 games mostly on the new account. However, with Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Maplestory taking up my time, I am not really sure I can devote my life to trophy hunting anymore, as the PS4 games aren't as fun as Maplestory is for some reason. Maybe it's because I enjoy building up characters and they have events where you can get triple the levels with every level up for one of your characters on your account. That's not to say I'll see my Playstation consoles and just delete my accounts: I'll try to work on my PS4 account after Christmas Day. I really want to try platinuming those games which people have done 100% trophy speedruns on to see how they did it so fast and try it myself, and there are some games I love(like World of Final Fantasy, will probably add in the Maxima update). I just have trouble managing time. Right now I have to go take a shower, than fire up the oven to bake cupcakes and then I'll leave home to go attend a two hour long Christmas church service and then come back briefly to clean my kitty litter box and change into casuals before heading out again to exchange presents and eat turkey with my parents, my sister and her husband. Every minute I type here is time wasted and I should be in the shower now.

 

Maybe my tastes have changed now that I am a year older.

Edited December 24, 2018 by SuperSmash5U

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[Metal Slime King]

On 12/22/2018 at 10:48 PM, Cassylvania said:

I guess it has online co-op? I dunno. I know there's some dumb trophy that requires a bunch of people working together, and that's not really what you want from an eight year old game.

 

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair supports up to 6 players in a lobby. You will need 6 players to get the Boned trophy. When a player dies they tag along as a skeleton and do a laughable 1 point of damage until they are resurrected by another player. For Boned you need to defeat a boss (most likely the boss of level 1 on Normal) with 5 skeletons so only 1 player is doing real damage. The other trophies requiring other players are Lifeguard, Grim Synergy and Poetic Justice. Poetic Justice is the hardest, there are some bosses (like the Succubus in the Pyramid level iirc, it's been a couple of years) who will charm players and you need to kill a charmed player while avoiding the boss.

 

The other trophies can theoretically be done solo but there's a trophy for beating level 6 on hard mode and hard mode is pretty tough. This is a very grindy, random loot heavy game and if you don't happen to find someone who has already built a good character who is willing to carry then you're looking at a long grind to get hard mode capable. I'm sure the random player base is all but dead now but sessions still pop up occasionally on PSNP. Here's one. Notice there is a guy in there who claims to be capable of carrying.

 

I thought it was a pretty fun game and until Requiem came out it was the closest thing to old school Castlevania with trophy support although I didn't think the controls were 100% up to par with the controls in the original games. Unfortunately some of the additional levels after Dracula in the base game (Level 6) are paid DLC but I had a real blast playing through all of Castlevania 1 remade as a single level in HoD. If you do choose to pick it up this might make a good milestone for your profile.

 

Slaughtervania

Rack up 10,000 enemy kills.

[AJ_Radio]

19 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

 

So, just some random thoughts here:

• I don't mean games being more like movies, if the quality is good. There's probably a balance that needs to be struck, but I don't think I've ever been put off to a game because it plays less like a game. If I had a bigger complaint with God of War 2018, it's that the combat got kinda stale, and most of the "bosses" were reskins. The Valkyries should've played a bigger role in the main campaign, because that was the best story and combat the game had to offer, IMO.

 

Heavy Rain was sold as an interactive drama, and it worked great. Beyond: Two Souls wasn’t quite as good, but worked on the same idea. Those games I’m not bothered with. 

 

God of War was at it’s best when you’re the antihero slaying away at countless monsters and creatures in your quest to kill the Greek Gods. God of War 2018 completely lacks the charm and appeal the older games had and it was clear Sony Santa Monica was taking the series in a different direction. 

 

Storywise it leaves a lot of glaring gaps. Where did Kratos go after God of War 3? How did he end up in a fantasy world with Norse Gods? Where did he meet his deceased wife that he mates with to have Arteus? 

 

Maybe Santa Monica is working on a game that explains this gap, but spending a large portion of the game to spread ashes of a deceased person isn’t my idea of a game with compelling gameplay. 

 

The Valkyries are completely optional for non trophy hunters. Why weren’t they part of the main story? Would of made things a lot more interesting. 

 

8 hours ago, Briste said:

I agree. At the end of the day, I'm just looking to be entertained so if the game being like a movie works, then awesome. I know that's not the same for everyone. When I was in high school, I did a project on how video game technology was changing. I compared the N64 to the PS1 and the change from cartridges to CD's and how I thought that the N64 was not going to be a successful due to the limitations of the cartridge. I made a VHS tape where I recorded myself playing games like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time on the N64 and then me playing Final Fantasy VII and Destruction Derby. The part from FFVII I showed was of Cloud's Omnislash and a casting of Knights of the Round, where as for Ocarina of Time is was a battle with the first boss Spider.

 

I loved the FFVII animation for the Knights of the Round and was trying to showcase about how awesome the future would be with those capabilities...I was very surprised to find most people in the class thought that was boring when compared to the other games. Plus they thought the loading times on PS1 were garbage...I proved right over time, however it was eye opening to see how boring people felt random CGI infused into games could be.

 

The Nintendo 64 was 64 bit, the PlayStation 1 was only 32 bit. 

 

CGI is good when implemented properly. The problem is it’s everywhere these days.

 

I personally think what most AAA developers have to do to sell a game is to feature a title with a strong dramatic cast who can sell the roles. I feel this is reflected in our enjoyment of hour long blockbuster dramas like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Big Love and various others. 

 

Your class as I can imagine probably felt CGI would be a hinderance to video games. At that time it was new technology, a lot of early CGI looked rather primitive, certainly nothing like the 4K CGI we see today. 

 

I just feel the PS3/Xbox 360 generation already did a good enough job presenting good CGI with a solid story and good gameplay. Nowadays it’s basically about the graphics with a story. Uncharted 4 literally blew me away the first time I saw it through a preview. But it basically feels like I’m the modern day Indiana Jones going on his final adventure. 

 

I guess I miss the arcade feel that used to be a lot more prevalent in games. Probably why I play a lot of indies as is.

Edited December 25, 2018 by Spaz

[Cassylvania]

8 hours ago, SuperSmash5U said:

Well, I could try to earn more platinums on my old account, but I will probably stick to PS Vita platinums on that account because I am not really interested in switch my Vita to another account. There are a bunch of games I am interested in playing on Vita but I am sticking with PS4 games mostly on the new account. However, with Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Maplestory taking up my time, I am not really sure I can devote my life to trophy hunting anymore, as the PS4 games aren't as fun as Maplestory is for some reason.

 

That's fine. Just stick to your old account and stop worrying about getting trophies. They're just virtual nothings anyway.

 

And Smash 5 is a lot of fun. I've been playing it with the fam. Still working on unlocking everybody, but Link and Inkling are my favorites so far. I've always been partial to Link because he has such a wide array of attacks, and his down thrust is awesome, but Inkling is a little more fun. Usually, my siblings and I will settle on three or four characters each, so I'm trying to claim my mains before they do.

 

4 hours ago, Metal Slime King said:

I thought it was a pretty fun game and until Requiem came out it was the closest thing to old school Castlevania with trophy support although I didn't think the controls were 100% up to par with the controls in the original games. Unfortunately some of the additional levels after Dracula in the base game (Level 6) are paid DLC but I had a real blast playing through all of Castlevania 1 remade as a single level in HoD. If you do choose to pick it up this might make a good milestone for your profile.

 

Slaughtervania

Rack up 10,000 enemy kills.

 

Thanks for the tips! That was my concern -- a lot of reliance on online play. Between the dead servers and my crappy internet speed, I don't know if it's worth my time. But Slaughtervania is something I've had my eye on for a while. 10k milestone? Yes, please.

 

Anyway, just wanted to wish everybody a merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you might be celebrating this time of year. I'm going to go smash my family.

[Briste]

5 hours ago, Spaz said:

The Nintendo 64 was 64 bit, the PlayStation 1 was only 32 bit. 

I know that, it wasn't about the bits it was about the change from cartridges to CDs. I felt like the future of games was going to be on CD since games could go on multiple discs and it allowed for some really cool CGI to enhance the story telling. The CGI scenes from FFVII were amazing at the time. Cloud escaping Midgar on his motorcycle and THE scene with Sephiroth and Aeris was able to capture something in a video game I had never seen to that point. I enjoyed it for the enhancements to story telling, a lot of the people in my class thought it was boring and liked playing the N64 better. They missed the point too about the cartridge basically reaching its limitations and the change to CD opening things up. Zelda and Mario 64 were more fun to play in my opinion as well, but nothing beat the story telling of a Final Fantasy game...at least back then anyways.

 

5 hours ago, Spaz said:

Your class as I can imagine probably felt CGI would be a hinderance to video games. At that time it was new technology, a lot of early CGI looked rather primitive, certainly nothing like the 4K CGI we see today. 

You're not wrong exactly, but you have to remember that this was before there were even HDTV's. The first time I saw something in HD it blew my mind the difference. Seeing something in 4K wasn't even an itch in our daddy's pants at the time. For that day and age and what had been up to that point, the CGI was pretty impressive in some games like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid.

 

7 hours ago, Jens said:

The tricks I learned back then came back to my memory pretty quickly and you can get gold with just 2-5 well pulled-off tricks, you just need to see and replicate them.

I don't really know any tricks so far other than punch, sprint and jump...I know that punching while sprinting seems to give you the slightest boost...but I can figure out how to cart wheel or slide on purpose and make it effective. I haven't had much trouble getting silvers, but some of the gold ones have taken several tries. I like the running challenges better than the collecting lums challenges.

 

1 hour ago, Cassylvania said:

Anyway, just wanted to wish everybody a merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you might be celebrating this time of year. I'm going to go smash my family.

lol Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone! Santa just visited my house and it's about time for bed...here's to hoping your smashing of your family is with Link!

[AJ_Radio]

15 minutes ago, Briste said:

I know that, it wasn't about the bits it was about the change from cartridges to CDs. I felt like the future of games was going to be on CD since games could go on multiple discs and it allowed for some really cool CGI to enhance the story telling. The CGI scenes from FFVII were amazing at the time. Cloud escaping Midgar on his motorcycle and THE scene with Sephiroth and Aeris was able to capture something in a video game I had never seen to that point. I enjoyed it for the enhancements to story telling, a lot of the people in my class thought it was boring and liked playing the N64 better. They missed the point too about the cartridge basically reaching its limitations and the change to CD opening things up. Zelda and Mario 64 were more fun to play in my opinion as well, but nothing beat the story telling of a Final Fantasy game...at least back then anyways.

 

One good thing about the PlayStation 1 was it had cutscenes. 

 

I used to love and play Starcraft 64 which was a port of the original game. I’m sure everybody remembers the PC original and how fucking epic that game was. The cutscenes were still, there was no animation because that would of significantly upped the data required to run the game. 

 

Cartridges didn’t hold a fraction of what game discs and PC CD ROMs were capable of.

 

I remember reading somewhere that Capcom and Square Enix were not happy with Nintendo’s decision to stick with cartridges so they went over to Sony. Konami I believe also switched over. 

 

You have to admit, that period was a fantastic time for gaming. 

[Metal Slime King]

1 hour ago, Cassylvania said:

Slaughtervania is something I've had my eye on for a while. 10k milestone? Yes, please.

 

Nice! Not to make it sound like I'm personally invested in whether or not you get this game but I did notice it was on sale tonight while I was on the PSN store to pick up Requiem for myself. $3.75 Canadian so it's probably like $3 in the US. Merry Christmas!