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Beauty vs Beast - A Trophy Hunting Competition


Who are you supporting?  

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  1. 1. Who are you supporting?



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Second game of the competition completed, albeit a low scoring one.

 

:platinum: Tales from the Borderlands - 8.7 points

 

I've always liked the Borderlands series for it's witty dialogue, art-style, character design, game-play and story. So I went into this with high expectations and it did not disappoint AT ALL. There wasn't a dull moment from start to finish, and had quite a few laughs along the way. Beautifully written screenplay, dialogue and story-archs. Really enjoyed the music direction too. Definitely a game where I was glued to the seat and screen.

 

Image result for tales from the borderlands

 

So would I recommend this to Beast? Absolutely! Such a relaxing and enjoyable experience, and a great entry-point for those who may be new to the Borderlands series.

 

Overall my rating for this game is as follows:

 

Difficulty: 0

Enjoyment: 8/10

Grind: 0

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5 hours ago, eigen-space said:

 

Wow. Isn't Arizona next doors to Texas, where I live? Because I haven't gotten hit with a sandstorm. Plenty of heavy summer rains, though.

Edited by DragonQuest238
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9 minutes ago, DragonQuest238 said:

 

Wow. Isn't Arizona next doors to Texas, where I live? Because I haven't gotten hit with a sandstorm. Plenty of heavy summer rains, though.

 

No, New Mexico borders Texas.

 

Arizona has a lot of desert, which would likely explain the sandstorms.  Texas has some desert areas (Chihuahuan Desert) but it's mainly on the west where it borders NM and Mexico, so you're unlikely to ever see a sandstorm in San Antonio :P

Edited by Mesopithecus
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@DragonQuest238, @Mesopithecus

 

We definitely have a lot of open, dry, dusty spaces. During June-August we actually get regular thunderstorms that come with LOTS of strong wind which picks up all that dirt and dust... and because the land is pretty open (no forests, etc), there's nothing to "catch" the dust, so it just accumulates.

Also, because we're so dry, the rain that we do get tends to cause dangerous flash floods as the ground is too hard to soak it up quickly. A couple years ago we actually had to shut down I-10 as it flooded 4'+.

And whenever any of this happens, infrastructure doesn't hold up. I was without internet at my home from Sunday evening through Monday afternoon, 15k homes in one part of town were without power for about 24hours, and 40k in another part of town were without power for about 10hrs.

 

 

Edited by eigen-space
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@eigen-space Wow, that's crazy.  So essentially it could be dust storms one minute, and then flash floods the next?

 

I geek out a little over US Geography - I only moved here from the UK a few years ago so I love seeing the different landscapes, climates etc.  Arizona is definitely a place I would love to visit, just because you have the best National Park in the country.

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@Mesopithecus, that's exactly how it works. Usually you'll get the dust then the rain. On the rare occasion you'll get both (the dust usually comes down with the rain, leaving everything really dirty).

If you ever do visit, let me know! I usually hike a trail or two of the Grand Canyon every year. And there's some neat places to go spelunking too :P

 

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Finished up Claire on the Vita for 32.65 points!

 

Decent game, but glad I got it for free on PS+. It had a pretty interesting story (though minimal). It was a little buggy on the Vita, but I heard it was much less buggy on the PS4. Might have to try it out to see if it's better (and, yes, stacks count for this event so long as they aren't auto-popped!).
Would I recommend it to Zolkovo? Yes! But don't pay more than a couple $$ for it... there's not much content at all.

Edited by eigen-space
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9 hours ago, Inuty said:

I´m cheering for @Zolkovo. I love his give aways and the Option to donate the prizes! One day I will win my Premium Membership :shakefist:

 

But have fun you two! The best should win :) 

 

Thank you, much appreciated! I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunity for you to win something sooner or later :)

 

The Beast is certainly no push over, but I have a few aces up my sleeve :P

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Taking the lead by storm after a few snazzy new additions.

 

:platinum: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (DLC Complete) - 210.5 points

 

It's breathtaking to see how far Uncharted has come since the initial debut release in 2007. I remember only picking that game up because it was on sale for a fiver; one of the better decisions of my life no doubt. Uncharted 4 presents a pitch-perfect conclusion to the series and should serve as a benchmark for any other franchise approaching its twilight years. There are no threads left unresolved, no relationships left unexplored and no shirts left partially un-tucked.. except maybe Sully's.

 

Image result for uncharted 4

 

Having just completed the DLC, I have to say I love this game even more. What a rewarding feeling, and a huge thanks to @bellatrix_73 and @tsiligros1974 for teaching me all the tips and tricks.

 

Beast.. just play the entire god damn franchise already!

 

Overall my rating for this game is as follows :

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Enjoyment: 10/10

Grind: 3/10

 

:platinum: Rocket League (DLC Complete) - 166.7 points

 

This game is madness. Who would have thought you could mash two of my favourite things together and it'd still end up being fun. Cars and football (not to mention hockey pucks, basketballs etc.)?! A stroke of genius and executed extremely well. In terms of trophies there were a few buggy ones but nothing that couldn't be resolved with a rubber-band or a wee bit of patience. I intend to keep playing this for a while as I've finally managed to get to grips with the camera and have mastered my vehicle of choice (yes, yes it's the Octane - no surprises there). A big shout-out to @Smzthy who made the 100% journey significantly easier by trading some of the rare items that would otherwise have taken a long time to obtain. Thanks mate!

 

Image result for rocket league

 

I really can't see you playing this Beast, especially given your stance on online/co-op content.

 

Overall my rating for this game is as follows:

 

Difficulty: 1/10

Enjoyment: 7/10

Grind: 5/10

 

:platinum: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - 36.7 points

 

An enjoyable experience but I found myself missing Nathan Drake's charm and misfortune; it wasn't quite the same with the alternative protagonist(s). Nonetheless Naughty Dog did not disappoint when it came to story, dialogue and attention to detail.

 

Image result for lost legacy

 

Actually, I would suggest this be an entry point into the franchise for Beast as there are no online components and the single player is relaxing enough to be able to focus wholly on the story.

 

Overall my rating for this game is as follows:

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Enjoyment: 8/10

Grind: 1/10

Edited by Zolkovo
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  • 2 weeks later...

I've decided to double post because this next game deserves a special mention and also Beast appears to be in somewhat of a slumber in some cave somewhere ?

 

:platinum: Heavy Rain - 49.6 points

 

Heavy Rain started off like a poorly executed Sims rip-off and as the game went on I realised just how much I hate Sixaxis. If I want a work out for my wrist then I'll go play badminton or watch some porn mkay? It's not relaxing at all shaking the controller every which way like you're having a fucking seizure or unable to restrain yourself following a month of celibacy. Coupled with the swearing as a result of the unnecessary QTEs, it would have surely looked like a severe episode of Tourette's to an outsider. It got to the point where I was getting headaches and so I decided to reference a few guides to write out an optimal trophy path so I could get this ordeal over with ASAP.

 

Image result for heavy rain kamikaze

 

And boy did I regret it. Whilst the game starts off at a snail's pace, before you know it you are literally hurtling down the motorway at breakneck speed against oncoming traffic. If it wasn't for the story I'd have seriously waved goodbye to my 100% profile. This game is a fantastic example of why being a completionist can be so worthwhile and rewarding. Had it not been for that I'd have put the game down after an hour and never looked back, missing out on truly great narrative.

 

Despite its many bugs, glitches, frustrating camera movements and the dreaded motion control QTEs in the end this proved to be an enjoyable foray into the world of Interactive Drama. I certainly prefer this to a VN as all my actions resulted in consequences as opposed to a VN where it'll always arch back to the same story path. Whilst being a very well written and directed work of art, I sincerely believe it could have done without all the gimmicky Sixaxis bullshit Sony felt compelled to shove down our throats. I wasn't too thrilled having to sit through the tedious credits 7 times either; a little throwback to Metal Gear Solid 4.

 

Image result for heavy rain

 

But rather than reject I will forgive Heavy Rain for its shortcomings. With all that said, this one is definitely worth a go Beast and I hope you pick it up while it's still being offered on PS+ IGC.

 

Overall my rating for this game is as follows:

 

Difficulty: 1/10

Enjoyment: 7/10

Grind: 1/10

Edited by Zolkovo
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20 minutes ago, Zolkovo said:

I've decided to double post because this next game deserves a special mention and also Beast appears to be in somewhat of a slumber in some cave somewhere 1f914.png

 

Image result for hatoful boyfriend

 

I would like to say that I'm slumbering away in a dark, cool cave somewhere to combat this Arizona heat.... however, KYC is partially to blame for my lack of points. Starting up new games every 3 days has made it so I can only accrue completion for small point-value games (like Hatoful Boyfriend). However, I'm halfway through 4 different games that average out to about 100 points a piece. I think by mid-August I'll be caught up with those and back in contention.... and probably ready for my first 3x points game ;) 

 

 With all that said, this one is definitely worth a go Beast and I hope you pick it up while it's still being offered on PS+ IGC.

 

Might actually have to pick it up based on your recommendation.
Though if I do this one, you have to do Hatoful Boyfriend :D 


 

Edited by eigen-space
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6 hours ago, Zolkovo said:

This game is a fantastic example of why being a completionist can be so worthwhile and rewarding. Had it not been for that I'd have put the game down after an hour and never looked back, missing out on truly great narrative.

 

Lol, I thought this was the standard line for every game a completionist plays, good, bad or shocking. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got some more points on the board with Child of Light and Shining Resonance Refrain.

@Zolkovo and I have completed the same amount of games at this juncture (9) but he's about 3x ahead with points. I need to step up my gaming!

 

Some brief reviews of the games that I played:

 

Led1bfe.png

 

Child of Light has you play as the Princess Aurora; she wakes up in an alternate world knowing that her father is on the verge of death and the lives of the people in her kingdom are in danger from a natural disaster. You initially travel through this world only trying to find a way back to your kingdom, but throughout her adventures, Aurora meets various people and creatures who also need her help; Aurora, being the benevolent person that she is, helps everyone she comes across and makes friends that decide to fight alongside her.

Simply a beautiful, wonderful game. I had the pleasure to play this on the Vita a while ago and fell in love with it due to the music and visuals, and the visuals were certainly enhanced when getting to play it on the PS4 on my TV. The ambiance of this game is perfect if you're having a stressful time as it sucks you right in and makes you forget about everything else around you (which is exactly what I needed right now as my work has been leaving me drained).

The gameplay can be described as an RPG with adventure elements, with the battle system being turn-based. The game also has minor puzzle elements to it, but they are all quite easy.

This game is definitely one of my go-to examples for why people should pay attention to games without platinums, and I recommend it to everyone.

 

 

 

 

L8e4a30.png

 

Shining Resonance Refrain is a remaster of Shining Resonance, a game which was released on the PS3 only in Japan. It follows the story of Yuma, a young man that is the vessel for The Shining Dragon, an entity that has fought on the behalf of mankind but has fearsome power that needs to be controlled. Two different kingdoms are after Yuma's power-- the Lombardian Empire, which seeks to force Yuma to use his powers through cruel experiments, and Astoria, which seeks to have Yuma help of his own free will.

 

This game gives you two options up front-- you can play the game in "Original Mode" or "Refrain Mode". The only difference is that "Refrain Mode" offers you two additional characters (and scenarios for them) which were only available in the original PS3 game as DLC characters. The only reason to forego them and play the Original Mode first is if you don't want minor spoilers as these are two of the main antagonists in the game (and their scenarios sometimes reveal plot points). From a trophy hunter's perspective, you'll want to start on Refrain Mode as there are several trophies tied to this one; the trophy list does a good job at making you aware of this for 3 trophies, but some of the most grind-worthy trophies require these characters as well despite it not being specified in the descriptions. I personally started out on Original Mode thinking that I'd get all the grindy trophies in that play through and breeze through the second run to get the remaining trophies; after realizing that the grindy trophies require the additional characters (about halfway through the story), I restarted the game on Refrain.

 

The battle scheme reminds me a lot of the Tales Of games... you enter into battle with an enemy you see on-screen, which will then pull in more enemies for a larger battle. You have the ability to fully move around the battle map while walloping on the enemies with a combination of regular attacks which you can chain together and then continue the chains together with special attacks o or magic that use MP called Forces. You also have the ability to call forth The Shining Dragon during battle as well as sing various songs through a special ability called B.A.N.D. which will increase attacks, defense, elemental resistances, etc.

Some of the battles can be challenging, so if you aren't into the fighting system, you should choose the lower difficultly setting when you start your game as you can't change it during your play through. I did try certain battles out on the lower difficulty to see how much easier it was, but it wasn't really noticeably less challenging.

 

The other big aspect of this game is that you are trying to grow your bonds with all your party members by hanging out with them before bedtime or taking them out on dates around town. These events usually give some fun insight into whichever character you're dating. Increasing affection through hanging out or going on dates is critical as each character has their own individual ending.

 

The game is decent, though I don't see much replay value in it. It doesn't have a NG+ mode, and the story is only a couple ranks above Mediocre. Definitely wish I had started on Refrain Mode... and could have probably waited for a price reduction on the game rather than pre-ordering it. I'll probably be on the lookout for any future Shining titles... but only after they go on sale.

 

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On 7/13/2018 at 5:16 PM, eigen-space said:

@Mesopithecus, that's exactly how it works. Usually you'll get the dust then the rain. On the rare occasion you'll get both (the dust usually comes down with the rain, leaving everything really dirty).

If you ever do visit, let me know! I usually hike a trail or two of the Grand Canyon every year. And there's some neat places to go spelunking too :P

 

 

That sounds pretty fun. Let me know if you have room for one more. ? Also, good luck with the competition, the both of you.

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Just now, PrinceOfPeace said:

 

That sounds pretty fun. Let me know if you have room for one more. 1f601.png Also, good luck with the competition, the both of you.

 

Definitely always down for hiking/spelunking/exploring with new friends!
And thanks! I'll take all the luck I can get at this point with my competition having outpaced me at this juncture ?

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1 minute ago, eigen-space said:

 

Definitely always down for hiking/spelunking/exploring with new friends!
And thanks! I'll take all the luck I can get at this point with my competition having outpaced me at this juncture 1f605.png

 

Try to keep the story of The Tortoise and the Hare in mind. ?

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Finished up another game today:

 

L82406f.png

 

Earthlock is an improvement on the earlier Earthlock: Festival of Magic. I highly applaud the developers of this game for making improvements to this game. They originally released this game late 2016 after being in development for several years. Lack of funding, lack of time, and many other things along the way led to the release of a slightly underwhelming game. However, after gaining revenue from their initial game sales, they were able to reinvest in development and added back in many of the things they had to cut. They also added things based on the players' suggestions. When they re-released the game earlier this year, they made it free for anyone who had bought the original game. Who says all game devs are greedy?Having purchased the original game just before they removed it from the PlayStation Store, I was able to see just how much of an improvement was made between the two games. The changes, though mostly subtle, have a huge effect on the player experience.

 

The story follows Amon, an orphaned scavenger that was adopted by his "Uncle" Benjo. After the duo pilfers a very important artifact from the ruins of an old temple, they get forced into a much bigger plot that involves the entire empire. Along the way they meet Gnart, a hogbunny scholar that serves as the main healer for the party, Olia, the party's spear-weilding badass tank, Ive, a military school cadet, Taika, the elemental-powered storm dog, and PAT, the stat-boosting robot.

 

Image result for earthlock characters

 

One of the most interesting aspects of the game is how the battle system is set up. Each character has two stances which offer their own unique abilities. For example, one of Amon's stances allows him to use a long-range cannon that can deal some major damage while his other allows him to use thief abilities to steal from enemies or make him invisible to attacks. Additionally, you can pair up characters, and each pairing offers the characters distinct advantages like gaining immunity to certain elements or making healing items more effective. There is almost always an optimal party set up for each boss; once you know this set-up, the boss battles become trivial.... but be prepared to die a couple times before figuring out what party is optimal.


The game is also a treat for people who are true game completionists rather than simply trophy list completionists. In order to complete the trophy list, you have to do almost everything the game has to offer. You have trophies for getting max levels and max bonds for all characters and character pairings. You have to complete the bestiary. You have to grow all plants (which provide you with materials to synthesize healing items and ammo for long-range weapons), you have to grow all animal trees, you have to go on all map hunts (which allow you to dig up items necessary for forging new weapons-- which you have to create one each for a trophy). Even if some sort of action doesn't directly link to a trophy, it will indirectly link to the trophy Well Traveled as you will get various mementos from talking to certain people, reading library books, releasing crows from their cages, and all sorts of other things that you wouldn't otherwise think to do.

 

I think this game would be a delightful addition to anyone's collection. It is very reminiscent of JRPGs, despite being made by a Norwegian studio, but lacks the "anime style" character design, which a lot of JRPG detractors use as their reason for disliking a game. It has everything from slapstick humor to assassination attempts to a pining love story. There are also quite a few parallels to Star Wars...

Edited by eigen-space
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Congrats. And I'm sure I already said it several times already but I can totally agree with that opinion about Earthlock. I already had a good time with the original version but the small improvements really helped to make this a better and more enjoyable game overall. Things like the additional planting spots on the island, the various things added to the overworld, the option to decorate the cities with those trees, or the option to speed up battles surely helped to improve my impressions of the game. 

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@Crimson Idol, I was just pleasantly surprised by how much they added and changed! I knew that the island would get some upgrades, but I thoroughly enjoyed the additions of the overworld "mini-games" and side quests... and did NOT expect the story and dialogues to change the way they did. I'm glad they made Olia more likeable xD

 

Edited by eigen-space
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@Mesopithecus, I actually thought it was really fun to see all the changes from the original to the re-release. If that's something that interests you, play the original first. The original is by no means a bad game, you can just tell that some things were kind of rushed.

If that's not something that interests you, then stick with just the re-release :)

The only other reason to play both is that they are pretty quick games (probably 30-40 hours for either) so you can get your plat count up if you're trying to get to your 150th milestone quickly ;) Do you already have a game picked out for that?!

 

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