Arcesius' Pursuit of Completion

[Cassylvania]

Wow, your reviews are so much better than mine. I see you dropping words like "Dark Souls" and "Salt and Sanctuary" to trick us into playing. Sadly for you, my bank account is empty this time of year!

 

...and every other time of year.

 

10 hours ago, Arcesius said:

There are not even enough stones in one playthrough to get a single piece of equipment all the way to +10! That's an odd design choice, to be honest. There are about 36 or so such stones, and 32 are required to get a weapon from +9 to +10… 

 

That's the kind of foresight I love to see in a game. ?

[AnEldritchThing]

I tip my hat to you for completing Death's Gambit...hell of a platinum to get!

[Arcesius]

On 12/12/2019 at 9:04 PM, Cassylvania said:

Wow, your reviews are so much better than mine.

 

Oh, thanks! Really appreciate the comment ? I'm still enjoying writing them. Since I'm back in Switzerland I haven't been using English all that much other than around here (in Finland I used to do all my work in English), so I'm also using this as a way of practicing my written English. 

 

I enjoy your reviews a lot, tough. I love the humor you use in them. ?

 

 

Quote

I see you dropping words like "Dark Souls" and "Salt and Sanctuary" to trick us into playing. Sadly for you, my bank account is empty this time of year!

 

...and every other time of year.

 

Lemme be honest.. If I were to recommend the game I'd say wait for a sale. I gave the game a 8/10 in terms of how much I enjoyed it, but it is not a 8/10 game in terms of overall quality. There are some areas where the game is lacking... something. So yeah, while it is very similar to S&S, I still think that S&S is vastly superior to Death's Gambit. 

 

 

On 12/12/2019 at 9:14 PM, GameMatter said:

I tip my hat to you for completing Death's Gambit...hell of a platinum to get!

 

Thanks man! It was definitely tough, but a lot of fun as well ?

 

 

 

Quick update, as I'm hoping to be back with another review very soon... ?

 

Pier Solar and the Great Architects

 

I am meanwhile one minigame short of the platinum. I finished my first playthrough, where I also got all collectibles and miscellaneous trophies in about 30 hours, and have in the meantime also completed a second playthrough where you just need to rush through the game and only fight the mandatory battles (you can set the encounter rate to 0, so that helps). At least they only make you win 600 battles... There have been worse grinds (I look at you, Final Fantasy IX... 10k enemies, seriously..)

 

I'll try to get the platinum before Christmas, as I'm travelling to Spain between Christmas and New Year to visit my family and I'd like to finish it still this year ?

 

 

Alienation

 

I finally found a couple of hours without other commitments or distractions, so could finally start this one with BB-BakkerJ (he has been patiently waiting for me to finally be ready..). We have done 8/20 missions on Professional difficulty and World Level 2, and man, I have the feeling that the game will be a lot of fun all the way to the end! 

 

There are two DLC trophies for playing certain missions in local-coop, which for us means using Shareplay and doing those missions twice (once for BB, once for me)... Dunno why you would insist on people playing in local-coop, but ok... 

 

I'll write more about this game when I've had a chance to play a bit more, but I can see myself recommending this one if you enjoy twin-stick shooters ?

Edited December 16, 2019 by Arcesius

[AJ_Radio]

I thought you had to boost that one trophy in Alienation. 

[Arcesius]

On 12/18/2019 at 4:44 AM, Spaz said:

I thought you had to boost that one trophy in Alienation. 

 

I don't know which trophy that would be. You can do all base-game and DLC trophies solo, if you wanted to, with the exception of 2 DLC-trophies for completing certain missions in local-coop... The game is more fun in coop, though, but you don't need to boost anything. 

 

How are you liking Guacamelee 2? 

 

 

 

I'm thinking about adding Bleed and Bleed 2 to my backlog ?

[AJ_Radio]

19 hours ago, Arcesius said:

I don't know which trophy that would be. You can do all base-game and DLC trophies solo, if you wanted to, with the exception of 2 DLC-trophies for completing certain missions in local-coop... The game is more fun in coop, though, but you don't need to boost anything. 

 

I know doing the Resogun DLC is extremely difficult by yourself and it’s basically essential you have a boosting partner. Somebody actually posted a video of them doing Commando Mode solo but I would not recommend it. Getting the ranks also needs boosting. 

 

I don’t know how Alienation is trophy wise, but I’m guessing since Housemarque specialized in arcade esque shooters, you can get used to the other games. Nex Machina looks difficult and Matterfall looks a tad annoying. Dead Nation will probably be the next Housemarque game I play. Sure it’s an old game now, but better late than never.

 

19 hours ago, Arcesius said:

How are you liking Guacamelee 2? 

 

It’s a very solid and enjoyable indie game.

 

However it’s a lot more difficult than the first game.

 

The combat is easy to learn, most of the challenge rooms aren’t too bad although you may have to make several attempts at some on Hard Mode. A few are pretty annoying, a couple I’ve done are difficult due to the mobs killing you. 

 

Platforming is where the difficulty ramps up. You’re expected to learn the platforming mechanics and get your memory refreshed on what you did in the first game. The Jade Temple key I hear is a real nightmare, I’ll have to see how it fares for me. Guacamelee 2 demands a lot more in its platforming. 

 

This game was executed well. The background details are good, music is fine, combat is satisfying, controls are fine tuned. It draws on several memes, and makes a spoof on the old Street Fighter 2 game. 

 

Definitely worth the purchase. My only bitching complaint is the trophy percentages are much too high. 33 percent rarity on a platinum trophy is quite high for what this game expects you to do.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Spaz

[Arcesius]

 

Quote

Definitely worth the purchase. My only bitching complaint is the trophy percentages are much too high. 33 percent rarity on a platinum trophy is quite high for what this game expects you to do.

 

Yeah I know what you mean. The game is not hard by any means, but it definitely isn't a game that should be at that rarity... I would rather see it in the 20-25% range, but those who bought the game knew what they were getting into... I mean, it doesn't even have 8'000 owners.. 

 

 

Update

Probably last update of the year. I'm currently away from home for Christmas (though still in Switzerland) and will then travel to Spain to visit my family... I won't be back until New Year, so no more gaming for me this year except 2-3 hours on Wednesday, which I'll use to grind some trophies in Alienation. If you are wondering what happened to "I expect to be back soon with a new review"... ?

 

 

Pier Solar and the Great Architects

I went from enjoying Pier Solar to hating it. And it has nothing to do with the game itself... I finished a regular playthrough, got all miscellaneous and collectable-related trophies, and then did a speedrun of the game fighting only the mandatory battles. The game is now sitting at 88%, and I initially wanted to get the plat before Christmas. 

 

The only thing I have left is playing the "Endless Slip" minigame, a test of concentration and endurance, where your character is sliding along a one-tile wide path for 6 minutes each way. Yeah, I wasn't able to do it. And I don't even necessarily think that the minigame is harder than other things I've done, but I noticed that I was getting frustrated way earlier than with other challenges I've tackled. It even started affecting my mood, so I decided that it's just not worth it. So, no more platinums for me in 2019, though fear not, I'll get this one done for sure ? I just need to go back to the right mindset, and a break is just what I need for that. 

 

It's a weird feeling though... I usually don't experience these levels of frustration, but I suspect that it has less to do with the game and more with my current mindset. 

 

 

Alienation

Holy shit this game is fun. ? We finished the campaign with our first character, and to not have to shareplay the missions needed for the DLC trophies twice, I helped BB with his trophies by shareplaying with him (which sucks as the joining visitor is only level 15 while the actual player is already in the 30s, so you cannot really help much), but did them in local coop with my girlfriend to unlock the trophies for myself. 

I'll need a couple more challenges and assignments with this first character, and will need to farm more cores for some trophies, then it's time to move to the second character and finally do a hardcore playthrough. 

 

Honestly, if this looks even remotely interesting to you, give it a go. It is a really good time. 

 

 

Otherwise, I haven't yet gone back to Diablo III and haven't played NecroDancer since I cleared Bolt, but expect me to go back to both in January ? I'm still aiming at getting back to 100% completion with my profile, even it if doesn't seem possible right now. 

 

As for the backlog, I removed the "upcoming releases" section from my backlog / wishlist, it didn't make much sense anyways. Oh, and please welcome the latest entry to the wishlist: Darkest Dungeon ? I'll be on the lookout for more such games where some progress can be made in 10-15 minutes at a time but still provide the challenge and fun that I look for in games... So if you have any such recommendations, let me hear them! 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Arcesius

[Theladozz]

4 hours ago, Arcesius said:

As for the backlog, I removed the "upcoming releases" section from my backlog / wishlist, it didn't make much sense anyways. Oh, and please welcome the latest entry to the wishlist: Darkest Dungeon ? I'll be on the lookout for more such games where some progress can be made in 10-15 minutes at a time but still provide the challenge and fun that I look for in games... So if you have any such recommendations, let me hear them! 

 

Darkest Dungeon is an amazing game but be prepared to get tilted out of your fucking mind by the rng. Literally everything during combat is based on percentages and random numbers ...

[Arcesius]

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and had a fantastic start in 2020 ?

Myself, I am already late with my first review of the year… But before we get to it, I need to make an important personal announcement: I'm going to be a father soon ? And I mean soon… due date is February!

That of course means changing priorities, and especially in the beginning I probably will have enough other things to do. Among other things, I will have to see how my gaming habits change (probably drastically) and therefore I'm also looking for game recommendations… I need games that can be played in short bursts and which have a pause option ?. I already have Darkest Dungeon (thanks Briste ?)and WipeOut Omega Collection in my backlog, but if anyone can come up with other suitable games, I'd be super happy to hear your suggestions ?

 

 

In the meantime, it is time for another review!

 

 

 

 Platinum #62 – Alienation

 

 

• 100% Enjoyment: 8/10
• 100% Challenge:  3.5/10
   

Twin-stick shooter style games (I'm including games like Magicka 2 or Gauntlet here, which aren't "shooters" but still feel similar enough) are quickly becoming one of my favorite types of games to play in coop, and Housemarque's Alienation gotta be the best game in the genre I've played to date. Stylish, fast, addictive, Alienation will give you a fantastic time for your money.

 

 

100% Enjoyment

 

Alienation is an isometric twin-stick shooter. As per usual with these games, don't ask me what the plot is about, I couldn't tell you… ? All I know is that you get to shoot Xenos (the enemy species) in the face, and that it feels great doing so.

 

In stark contrast to Helldivers, which looks and plays very similarly, there is an actual mission structure here. In total, one campaign playthrough consists of 20 missions in four different locations that are progressively unlocked but can be replayed as often as you want, and each mission consists of different objectives that you need to complete. The Battle- and Mothership are an exception, though: Two unique missions that are only available once per character. 

 

Now, there are three different characters that can be played. The Tank (self-explanatory), The Saboteur (likes to use poison) and The Bio-Specialist (is able to heal herself and the party members), and all story missions need to be completed with all characters if you are going for the plat (which of course we are). I believe that pre-DLC, each character had unique weapons exclusive to them… But that changed, and now all types of weapons can be used by all characters. What didn't change is that each character has unique abilities that they can be used in combat.

 

Now, for the meat of the game… You basically have a primary and secondary weapon, a heavy weapon and some sort of grenade… And you need to learn how to use those tools effectively, as you'll be constantly facing HUGE hordes of enemies… ? Crowd control is everything, it's the game. Initially you'll be easily overwhelmed as due to the small clip sizes of your weapons you'll very likely be reloading at the most inconvenient moments. But the more you play, the more you learn how to deal with those waves of enemies. At some point it will become second nature:

Empty the clip of the primary weapon, start reloading and switch to the second weapon. Shoot enemies in the face with that one, follow up with a Vortex Grenade. Your primary weapon should be reloaded now, so switch back to that one and keep shooting, etc… It's chaotic, but it's fantastic. ?

 

Now, what makes the game even more addictive is its loot system. If you have been following my reviews, you'll know that I have a weakness for Diablo-esque loot systems… That's probably one of the reasons I adore Nioh, and it's not unlikely that it's also what makes me not only like, but love Alienation. Modified drop percentages of legendary and rare loot incentivize playing on higher difficulties, and finding that sweet OP legendary Xenorifle with twelve core-slots is just so satisfying!

 

Core-slots? What am I talking about, you ask? You see, each rare and legendary weapon comes with up to 12 empty slots, and those can be filled with "cores", which drop from killing enemies and opening crates. There are cores that increase your clip size, your reload speed, your damage output, etc… Thus, those are essentially used to improve your raw weapon, and low-level cores can be combined to higher level cores for greater effect. This way, you can take a weapon that deals 300k damage per second and turn it into an unstoppable device of destruction that deals 1.7 million damage per second, has a huge clip and super fast reload speed. And IT. FEELS. AWESOME! 

 

Now, it is very easy and quick to just join public lobbies, and most players won't kick you out of their session (only happened twice I think), but it's probably more fun to play it in a coordinated team. I did two entire playthroughs with @BB-BakkerJ and I think I speak for the both of us when I say that we had a fantastic time with this game.

The third playthrough I did in local coop, and while it was fun as well, there are some drawbacks here… For one, you need to share the loot (which sucks ?)… But even worse is that you are restricted in your movement, as you share the same screen. That resulted in unnecessary deaths that would not have happened in online play.

 

 

100% Challenge

 

I mentioned that three playthroughs are required. That might sound like a lot, but once you know what you're doing, a single playthrough is pretty quick. BB and myself did our third playthrough from scratch in under four hours. 

Needs to be said, the grind has been heavily reduced since the release of the DLC. This is because you need to get all three characters up to level 30, but with the DLC you can create characters already at level 15 (not that leveling up is an issue... you can just join a Legend lobby, which is the highest difficulty setting, and will be level 30 within minutes). 

 

Otherwise, similar to paragon levels, once you reach level 30 with a hero you start gaining "hero levels". You need to get up to 100, which might sound like a lot but will more than likely come naturally while you are going for other trophies. The grindiest one requires you to equip a 12-socket legendary weapon with maximum level cores. Getting such a weapon was easy enough, but grinding all the cores needed to combine them to get 12 maximum level cores took quite some time. I'm not complaining though, even that grind was fun ?

 

Oh, one DLC introduced local-coop trophies, which in my opinion are totally unnecessary. You need to complete the Battle- and Mothership missions in local coop, but since BB and I were playing online, we needed to resort to shareplay. The problem with this is that the joining person will need to create a fresh character and won't be able to do anything to help clearing the mission (you are basically one-shot). That sucked big time, but it's also the only critique I have.

 

 

Honestly, I can't wait to play Nex Machina.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Arcesius

[Arcesius]

Literally a couple of minutes into the new sale I had already purchased a new game... I just couldn't resist! Please welcome my latest addition to the backlog: XCOM 2 (the Collection).

I figured if I were to try a strategy game, I might as well start with the best there is... And I just got the entire collection for 22 Swiss francs (~ 22 $ / 20 €). With a regular price of 105 $, I think this is a pretty good deal! ?

We are also a bit behind with the reviews, since we have meanwhile also popped the second (Diablo III) and third (Superhot VR) plat of 2020 (while Pier Solar is still sitting there untouched since before Christmas… ?)

 

With Diablo III done, Remnant: From the Ashes is taking its place as the next game I’m playing with @Mori. We already had our first session and the game makes a really good first impression! Oh, and good news to anyone interested in the game... It is true that the trophies used to unlock only for the host, but no more! That issue has been fixed, and all trophies now pop for all players in a party ?

 

What’s gonna replace Superhot VR, you ask? Well, I am probably going to buy PS+ for my Swiss account once my current subscription on my main account expires, provided that I can still play online with my main account… does anyone know how this works? Is this even possible?

It that's the case then I want to finish the one PS+ game I have in my backlog, which is WipeOut: Omega Collection. I know I am delaying The End is Nigh and Trials Fusion… We’ll get there eventually ?

 

With that short update out of the way, let's review a game known to probably everyone on earth… I’ll keep it short!

 

 Platinum #63 – Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

 

 

• 100% Enjoyment: 7/10
• 100% Challenge:  3/10

 

Diablo is not only a game, it is an institution known to and respected by millions of players worldwide and, as such, probably needs no introduction. After the epic classic that was Diablo II, players sure had high expectations for the sequel. And while nothing can compare to its predecessor, it still holds up pretty well.

 

 

100% Enjoyment

 

Being a huge fan of Diablo II and having played that one to an unhealthy degree, I had already played Diablo III on the X360, so I knew what to expect going into this one. This is a game that you always see recommended when people ask for good coop games, and rightfully so! The game is pretty easy, especially on low difficulties, and thus very suitable for casual players and chill coop sessions, but also more experienced players can find countless hours of content, grinding for loot to optimize a build capable of clearing high level challenge dungeons (Greater Rifts).

 

Speaking of which, loot is the name of the game. Diablo sure is known for its random drops, and many games with similar systems, such as Nioh, are often described as having a Diablo-style loot system. Some might be turned off by such a system, but I personally love it. It makes a game quite addictive, and encourages experimentation, trying to find synergies that suit your own playstyle.

 

Soooo. Much. Loooooot!

 

So what is the meat of the game? You start by choosing one of seven different starting classes and are thrown into the campaign, with only two or three difficulty options available at the start. The campaign is composed of five different acts during which you are tasked with completing several quests and objectives. Not only loot is randomized, either. Instead, each time you load your game up, the area layouts are generated randomly, as are the enemy spawns in said areas. As you progress in the campaign you get better gear, unlock active and passive skills for your character, and also get access to higher difficulty settings… The biggest advantage of increasing the difficulty is the larger XP gain and higher drop chances for legendary items… And it’s also more fun ?

 

Once the campaign has been beaten for the first time, Adventure Mode is unlocked. Here you can start doing Bounties, which boil down to completing objectives in designated locations, and Nephalem Rifts. The latter are randomly generated dungeons that will have you steamroll over hordes of enemies, climaxing in the appearance of the Rift Guardian and, of course, rewarding you with lots and lots of shiny new armor pieces ?

 

I can only repeat myself. If you are looking for a game to relax, a game that allows you to simply be OP and destroy everything, a game to play in coop while chatting with a friend, then Diablo III is definitely a top candidate.

 

 

100% Challenge

 

What comes with randomized dungeons, randomized loot, multiple class options, a bounty system, ...? Of course... a really, REALLY grindy platinum.

 

As mentioned above, the game doesn’t really pose any type of challenge unless you are deliberately looking for one. But boy does it want you to grind for all its trophies. Most are straightforward and will come naturally, others will have you repeating the same tasks over and over again. Luckily, @Mori and I got a bit of help to lesser that grind…

You actually only need to complete the campaign once. But you still need to level up five characters up to their maximum level of 70, and a sixth one in hardcore mode (i.e. with permadeath enabled). This sounds like a long grind, doesn’t it? That's because it really is, and it could easily take 20-30 hours of grinding just to get this trophy. But I also mentioned that you can be really OP in this game, didn’t I? Well, we organized a session where the host had this really powerful character, and started a Nephalem Rift on the highest available difficulty setting. Mori and I were incredulous when only 10 seconds into the session our level 1 characters had already reached level 50 At the end of the Rift we were already at level 70… Repeat this four more times and voilà, five level 70 characters in about half an hour!

 

Other than that, you need to complete 500 Bounties, which is a bit excessive and repetitive, and kill 100 Treasure Goblins, a specific creature that spawns pretty rarely. There are also grindy trophies that came with the DLC, where you need to play as a Necromancer and kill enemies in specific ways.

 

Given the grindy nature of the trophies, I'm actually surprised by the high trophy rarities ?

[Copanele]

Mega congrats for the Diablo III platinum, that really is one hell of an achievement!

I have a question regarding this game and you really are the person to answer, since you played Diablo 2 : What is the "secret ingredient" that is missing from this game?

 

To give a little insight about my question : First and foremost, I am a dedicated single player...player  (reason why I struggle in normally easy to co-op games is because I am stubborn in soloing them - see Nioh). Also, I played Diablo 2 alot. Well not as much as you, but I still finished the game with the Necromancer and the Sorceress on all 3 difficulties and it was the best hack & slash loot based ARPG I ever played. The game was tight, was fun, it was challenging (the first miniboss huntress from World 1 cemetery really kicked my butt the first time I encountered her, I believe she even had a sidequest). I still remember how I struggled against Duriel in World 2 and how Diablo was awe inspiring but couldn't compare to Baal. Not to get into details, Diablo II was  "the shit" back in the day  .

 

Now, I booted up Diablo III a while ago, got the trusty Necromancer because he's my trusty cannon fodder generator and off I went. The game....is alright. It's ... nothing special. I just spam the floor spikes. Normally Necromancer should be a squishy commander who can throw waves of skeletons while running around and spamming spikes. Now I can even go melee the entire map. Yes I am in World 1 still but...something is missing. Something is not yet complete and I don't figure out why. The game bored me in the first 2 hours oddly enough!

 

Disregarding the trophies, I have enough time to deal with them, but how do you actually start Diablo III and enjoy it in single player, coming from the masterpiece that was Diablo II  ? I really wish to give it another chance but boy is it hard when I actually fell asleep while mashing the buttons(luckily the controllers vibrate and I woke up, I still wasn't in any mortal danger)

[Baker]

Enjoy WipEout! That game was good although the Zone Events in 2048 were pretty tough and the Elite AI in HD can be frustrating at times. And if I can return the favor of idling so you can get the 3 online trophies quickly let me know ?.

[Arcesius]

22 hours ago, Copanele said:

I have a question regarding this game and you really are the person to answer, since you played Diablo 2 : What is the "secret ingredient" that is missing from this game?

 

Damn that's a really difficult question... Don't get me wrong, I know exactly what you mean, but really pinning the reasons down is really tough. Lemme try though... ?

 

I have a couple of ideas related to multiplayer that make Diablo II better, but since you say you play exclusively in single player, I will skip those. Otherwise, I can only think of a handful of design differences that, in my opinion, make Diablo II the better game. Keep in mind that between the team that developed Diablo and Diablo II was not the same than the one that developed Diablo III... 

 

• D2 had potions and consumables, and plenty of those... Mana potions, stamina potions, health potions... every so often you would need to go back to town and replenish those, or at least I remember doing so. In D3 on the other hand you have one single potion on a cooldown... 
  This might seem like a stupid reason to prefer one game over the other, but it's not really about the potions themselves. I just remember that having enough potions was crucial, especially as a sorcerer, and that healing potions were important, too. That in turns means that the game was, at least to me and at the time, more challenging, more complex. In D3, I didn't need to heal once until I got to Act 4, and there only because we increased the difficulty as far as we could. 
   
• More important is the Character progression. In D2 you had to spend your limited skill points to make your character stronger in the attributes that mattered for the build you were going for (you know, the RPG part in ARPG). You also needed to spend points to unlock abilities from the tree. In contrast, within a single class, every character at maximum level 70 feels the same in D3, with the only differences coming from the equipment you choose. 
  
  For example, I remember spending hours upon hours trying to build a perfect tri-element sorceress in D2, on paper! It was really hard to make that idea viable, and the character would have been much stronger if I had just focused on fire, or two elements at most. But really thinking about the best way to make a working tri-element sorceress was just so much fun, and so complex, too! Every single skill point I spent, every single attribute I raised mattered, and the end result was satisfying.
  In D3 you can just level up your character to 70 and then experiment with the different attacks, which are all unlocked anyways. No RPG elements, at least not really. In that regard, D3 feels more like an action game than an RPG. 
   
• I'm not surprised that you write that you just mash Bone Spikes... Weapons just don't really matter. In D2 you would still use your primary weapon, so in the scenario of a Necro you would still be rocking a Bow or something to complement the close quarter combat from your minions. In D3, your primary weapon is completely irrelevant... Maze, Sword or Axe? Just whatever has the larger numbers, your main attack will be overwritten by some spell or skill anyways. 
   
• Do you remember runes? Oh man do I remember runes. 

 

It's just details, but I feel like they were important and what really made your choices matter. They made the game more complex, more varied, while D3 is all about the spectacle and the huge numbers, and much more about the gear and the grind than D2 was. 

 

Oh and of course I also just remember the great times I had playing Diablo II with my friends, those times where I couldn't wait to get back home from school to play my Amazone,  do some Baal runs to get better gear or join a random multiplayer game with a freshly made character just to hit max level by having a tornado-Barbarian murder thousands of cows. Ah, great times... ?

 

 

 

22 hours ago, BB-BakkerJ said:

Enjoy WipEout! That game was good although the Zone Events in 2048 were pretty tough and the Elite AI in HD can be frustrating at times. And if I can return the favor of idling so you can get the 3 online trophies quickly let me know .

 

Thanks! Yeah I attempted the first Zone event yesterday once and it seemed quite tough ? I have meanwhile done 14/15 events in the 2048 season, and I'm still missing Elite passes in 3-4 events or so... Are those doable with the standard ships or would you recommend coming back with better ships? I am usually one that prefers finishing up everything before moving on... 

 

Thanks for the offer! Will definitely get back to you on that ? How long do you think will it take to get those trophies? Especially the "destroy 50 ships" one... 

[Baker]

40 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

 

Thanks! Yeah I attempted the first Zone event yesterday once and it seemed quite tough  I have meanwhile done 14/15 events in the 2048 season, and I'm still missing Elite passes in 3-4 events or so... Are those doable with the standard ships or would you recommend coming back with better ships? I am usually one that prefers finishing up everything before moving on... 

 

Thanks for the offer! Will definitely get back to you on that  How long do you think will it take to get those trophies? Especially the "destroy 50 ships" one... 

 

Well that really depends on the type of events you still need to do. I used different ships for different events. 

 

Race events: Feisar Speed or Feisar Prototype (best one)

Battle Events: Qirex Battle or Auricom Prototype 

Zone Events: AG Agility, AG Prototype or Feisar Agility

 

Now I don’t remember when you actually unlock some of these ships. But you get the Feisar Prototype pretty fast and it’s the best ship for Racing/Time Trials.

 

The online trophies take about an hour. I’ll actively help you with the 50 kills to make it a bit faster if you want. For the online races I can just idle at the start.

Edited January 21, 2020 by BB-BakkerJ

[Copanele]

3 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Diablo quote

Wow...yes I feel like you nailed down the details that diablo 2 did right. Did not know that the dev team was different. There's also the monster feeling "monsterly", mainly because of the graphics and the sound they were doing. It felt like you were slaughtering every single monster as brutal as possible (doom style). Here it's like I am smacking crackers with a little spoon. The effects and graphics were way more innovative(at that time).

 

I do remember runes, you know what else I remember? THE HORADRIC CUBE! Man that item was friggin AWESOME ! Doing all sorts of combinations and stuff and even acting as a backpack!Also used for making OP runes. The Horadric Cube might be one of the best McGuffin in videogames. Spent so much time experimenting what can be transmutated, had an entire list of it(did not have internet back in the day).

 

Thanks very  much for the reply and for the awakened nostalgia  I think when I will restart D3, I will just search a tv show or a long ass podcast to watch while I turbo mash the entire game.

[AJ_Radio]

Diablo 2 was made in a time when computer RPGs were still at their peak in the late 1990s, early - mid 2000s. What that game did was revolutionary. This and Starcraft 1 were what cemented Blizzard Entertainment in gaming history. 

 

Diablo 3 was criticized out the ass back when it came out. Even today there are aspects to this game that don’t hold a candle to Diablo 2. I feel it was dumbed down to appeal to a bigger audience. 

 

In Diablo 2, certain classes like the Assassin required a lot of forethought and planning in order to use them effectively. The game was easy to get into but very difficult to master. The Paladin was best suited for multiplayer games. If you took the ‘Curse’ path with the Necromancer you really had to know what you were doing. I always chose the Summoning Path because I preferred having skeletons and a golem to soak up damage and have them get aggroed. 

 

It’s sad how dumbed down games have had to get because today’s audience doesn’t want to think. I will bet everything that Diablo 4 will be incredibly streamlined, while taking out core aspects that made for proper strategy. Just like what Blizzard did to World of Warcraft.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Spaz

[Arcesius]

Man I should keep up with my reviews... Here is the next one! 

 

 

 Platinum #64 – Superhot VR

 

 

• 100% Enjoyment: 6.5/10
• 100% Challenge:  5.5/10

 

Superhot has, apparently, been a thing for a couple of years now, but since I usually don't play FPS games, I just didn't know anything about it. However, while looking for a reason to take my PSVR out of the drawer, I somehow stumbled upon its VR version. And while I didn't find it as amazing as the reviews suggested, it is still an innovative concept that works really well in VR.

 

 

100% Enjoyment

 

I didn't exactly know what I was getting myself into with this game. I knew that it was supposed to be good, a must-play VR experience, a rather unique game. And indeed, I was pleasantly surprised! You know, I rarely play shooters, and when I do I prefer them in third person view. FPS is just not my jam, and adding VR to a fast-paced FPS would probably not have been the right game for me. Luckily, Superhot VR is not primarily an FPS! Well, I say primarily because you are in first person, and you shoot things… ? But there is a twist!

 

So what is this game if not an FPS? Well, I would say a puzzle game. You see, the game is split into 19 chapters, and in each chapter you need to "solve" different scenes. They are all different, but in essence you face several Red Dudes (as they are called) that want to kill you, and you need to kill them first. The Reds are usually equipped with either ranged fire weapons, knives or hatchets, or will run towards you trying to punch you in the face. It's one hit and you're dead, but that also holds for the Reds. Now comes the gimmick… Time stands still as long as you don't move, and only flows when you move, and only as fast as you move! ? That's right. Initially you can stand completely still and simply study the scene. Where are the Reds positioned? What weapons do they have on them? What weapons are available to me for this scene? Then you slowly reach out for the Uzi on your right while observing how the Reds slowly move or shoot in your direction. You grab the Uzi while simultaneously bending your body to avoid incoming bullets, feeling like Neo in the process, and then start shooting the Reds yourself. And that's not just my imagination, have a look at the image for the trophy "The Chosen One" ?

 

Trophy Image: The Chosen One

 

Depending on the scene you might have no ranged weapons available and have to resort to melee combat or could even try to defeat some Reds by throwing knives or throwing stars at their heads. Now, if this sounds like it could be a good workout… It's not (it took me quite a while to unlock the trophy for "burning 1000 calories, soooo... ?). You'll duck behind cover and whatnot, but mostly in a snail tempo - with two challenges being an exception, but more on that later.

 

Now, this concept works really well also thanks to the minimalistic artstyle. Everything is very abstract but clearly identifyable: The entire background is white-gray'ish, the enemies are red and everything you can pick up is black, so no chance for confusion.

 

 

 

Otherwise, the game is on the short side. There is a trophy for playing the entire game in one sitting, so I decided to start this game on a day where I knew I would be home all morning. Well, even going in blind, I only needed 1.5 hours to finish the campaign… However, there is quite some replayability thanks to the challenges that are unlocked after finishing the game for the first time, though we'll go into those in the 100% challenge section.

 

On the technical side, the motion detection was alright, but didn't really work as well as I'd hoped. Especially trying to grab nearby weapons while ducking behind cover often resulted in frustration. Maybe the room I play VR in doesn't allow for an optimal distance to the camera, but this issue was more noticeable here than with other VR games I've played.

 

Overall, Superhot VR is a good VR experience that I can recommend if you can grab the game on a sale. In the original Superhot, time flows when you move your character with the regular controller. Here, you need to control your whole body, and I imagine this being way more fun than without VR. However, I didn't find it as spectacular as the reviews suggested and I don't think I'll be playing the regular Superhot, but I sure had some fun during my time with it. Fortunately, it is also rather short, so it doesn't overstay its welcome.

 

 

100% Challenge

 

Now, it is one thing to do "crazy shit" in games with a controller (tight jumps in Super Meat Boy, fast reactions in Trackmania Turbo, keeping the beat in Crypt of the NecroDancer…), but really only your fingers are doing the stuff. It is an entire different thing when you have to complete challenging tasks while being aware of your entire body, and this is what I mostly enjoy about VR (and the reason why Beat Saber is my favorite VR game, and not something like Astro Bot, for example). That being said, my rating is probably gonna be polarizing (again…). I guess if a trophy guide was made, it would surely be rated at a 7-8/10. HOWEVER, personally I didn't have too many issues with the game, and despite having to clear the entire game and seven different challenge modes, I still got the platinum in about 10 hours. In my book, that's rather on the easy side, so a 5.5 it is. ?

 

Now, why do I think that this could be rated higher? Completing the game should be feasible, and playing the game in one sitting is also straightforward, especially since the game is rather short. Most other trophies come from killing Red Dudes with different guns, and there is one trophy for getting all hidden disks, which sucks as a trophy especially since the disks are hidden INSIDE objects. So you need to slowly approach say a vase, and penetrate it with your head. Remember, you are physically doing this with your entire body, so good luck trying not to bump into your TV or your couch table or whatever it is that you have lying around.

 

So let's say you've gotten all of the above trophies… Now the fun starts. There are seven different challenges to complete. With most of the challenges you can complete the challenge for each chapter individually, though there are two challenges that require you to play the entire game in one sitting:

• No-Death Challenge: You need to complete the entire game from start to finish without dying. Yep, you cannot be hit by anything, so try to take the shotgun-weilding dudes out first... 
   
• 10 Minute Challenge: You need to complete the entire game from start to finish IN 10 MINUTES REAL TIME. Remember how I mentioned that the game took me 1.5 hours to finish the first time around? Well, now do that same thing but in 10 minutes. Sounds tough, doesn't it? Luckily, I saved this challenge for last and by the time I attempted it I knew the levels inside out. I got it on my second attempt.

 

The other challenges can be tackled chapter by chapter:

• Sniper Challenge: Here only headshots kill the Reds. Doesn't matter if you shoot them with a bullet or a knife, but it needs to be the head. There are a couple of chapters that needed some retries since I would run out of bullets, but overall this challenge ain't so bad.
   
• Hardcore Challenge: Each weapon has only one shot and enemies move faster (still only when you move or shoot, though). This is the first challenge I completed, and it wasn't all that difficult once you get used to the faster speed.    
   
• No Guns Challenge: Well, try playing an FPS without guns. Yep, you just need to kill Reds by throwing knives, bottles or guns at them. As I mentioned above motion detection wasn't always on point, and even having platted the game I still can't accurately throw objects. Still, this wasn't too bad. 
   
• Speedrun Game-Time: These two speedrun challenges were the toughest ones. In the Game-Time challenge you need to complete each individual chapter under a given in-game time. Remember, time only flows when you move, so this challenge is about moving as little as possible, and being as accurate as possible. There were a couple of chapters that required quite a few retries, as the timer was so tight that I needed to be perfect and not miss a single shot even at a great distance.
   
• Speedrun Real-Time: Hardest, but also the most fun challenge. In contrast to the Game-Time challenge, here you need to complete each chapter as fast as possible but in real time. So instead of moving as little and as slowly as possible, you need to know the chapter by heard and kill the Reds as fast as you can. Here you really feel like a badass with god-like reflexes and foresight, and this is also the only challenge that made me sweat and felt like a workout, but it was also a lot of fun. 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by Arcesius

[AnEldritchThing]

I am currently going through the normal version of Superhot and having a blast with it. Curious to try it with VR myself when I finally get a hold of one. Also saw you started Remnant! Looking forward to your thoughts on it. It was one of my surprise favorites from last year.

[Arcesius]

12 hours ago, GameMatter said:

I am currently going through the normal version of Superhot and having a blast with it. Curious to try it with VR myself when I finally get a hold of one.

 

I can imagine that Superhot is even more fun in VR, since you don't just move with the controller but really find yourself ducking behind cover, dodging bullets, etc... The trowing mechanics are a bit shit, but you can't have everything ?

 

 

Quote

Also saw you started Remnant! Looking forward to your thoughts on it. It was one of my surprise favorites from last year.

 

Oh my thoughts will be absolutely positive.. I adore this game. But I have to say that I'm playing it at the right time... Trophies now also pop for the non-host, so @Mori and I have been having a blast with this game, especially knowing that we wouldn't need to do the plat twice, so to speak ? I assume the game can also be fun solo, but it definitely is an amazing coop game. Only a bit of cleaning up left, so we should be done soon! 

 

HOWEVER, it seems that Gunfire Games still hasn't learned anything about optimization... The game runs better than Darksiders III, but holy shit those loading times ? Plus buggy trophies, lag, mod-powers randomly not working during the final boss fight, etc... Still, the game is too good to be upset because of those technical flaws. 

 

 

I guess I can also use this post for a short update... Apart from Remnant, there are two games that I'm playing actively at the moment. 

 

Update

 

WipEout: Omega Collection

The game is quite fun so far. I'm still playing the first of the three games included in the collection, WipEout 2048. I managed to Elite-pass everything in the 2048 season, everything except the zone events in 2049 and I'm currently finishing up the 2050 campaign. Zone events are tough, but they are also a tad frustrating. Any other type of event usually takes 3-4 minutes to complete, but in the zone event you need to race a course for an indefinite amount of time. Every ten seconds you get to the next "zone", and every five to ten zones your ship becomes faster (you cannot control your speed in this mode). The goal is usually to reach zone 60 or 70, depending on the course, so that means that a successful attempt takes at least 10 minutes. 

 

If that wasn't bad enough, for some reason the courses are not in their regular style, but instead are just filled with tripping and hypnotizing colors, and depending on the color scheme you just don't see shit. I just don't get why they felt the need to design these events like this. 

 

Then I also tried to play this game in VR yesterday. I lasted about 5 minutes, then I almost threw up ? I might not have picked the best course for VR (Sol), but holy shit! The game is already fast as is, but playing in VR and seeing everything from the cockpit of the ship... ? I don't think I'll try this again ?

 

 

Crypt of the NecroDancer

Yes, I'm still playing this one ? I'm currently practicing Aria, probably one of the most difficult characters to clear. Aria is the grandma of Cadence, and as such is pretty fragile. She starts with the basic dagger and cannot change weapons, has only half a heart and cannot increase her health (thus dies in one hit), and she also dies on a missed beat. If that wasn't bad enough, she does the zones in reverse, i.e. starts in Zone 4 and works her way to Zone 1. That means that she has to deal with the most difficult enemies from the start, when you don't yet have better equipment or spells. 

 

Despite the difficulty, she is actually pretty fun to play! And I think I'm making a bit of progress. It took me about five hours to even beat Zone 4 for the first time ? but in the subsequent five hours I've made it three more times to the next zone. So yeah, about 10 hours of Aria and I still haven't even come close to clearing a run. It is not uncommon to read that some people needed 20+ hours to even beat Zone 4, so I am happy with my progress ? Let's see if I can beat her in under 20 hours! 

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by Arcesius

[Arcesius]

 Platinum #65 – Remnant: From the Ashes

 

 

• 100% Enjoyment: 9/10

• 100% Challenge:  5/10

 

I started my trophy checklist writing about Darksiders III by Gunfire Games, a studio that seems to spend more time studying the Souls games than learning how to optimize their own games. But despite the many performance issues and technical flaws it has, their latest game - Remnant: From the Ashes - is a complete joy to play, and one of the best coop experiences I've had in a while.

 

 

100% Enjoyment

 

Honestly, this is a game I didn't know I wanted to play, but I'm so glad that I did. Remnant: From the Ashes is a souls-inspired (yes, yet another one) action RPG that, and here is what they bring to the table, swaps the traditional melee combat for ranged combat. Now, is it the first game to do this? Nope, Immortal: Unchained, a game that came out a year before Remnant, already focused on ranged weapons; but that game really wasn't all that great, and I couldn't recommend it to anyone. Still, it deserves credit for the idea. Remnant, on the other hand, is a game that really feels great and satisfying to play, and that comes from someone that usually avoids shooters. ?

 

What is unique about Remnant, however, is the random generation of the game world each time you start a new campaign. The four main areas are always the same, and the main story is set in stone, but which event-dungeons, miniboss-dungeons and final bosses you'll find in each area is random, and they are drawn from a somewhat large pool of possibilities (except the final bosses… there are only two to choose from in each area). This keeps the game fresh, but also comes with some annoyances. There were a couple of areas where it was very noticeable that the same building blocks had been put together, and this made a couple of dungeons undistinguishable (wow, what a word) from each other.

 

I believe that Remnant is a game that for the best experience should be played in coop. Couch-coop is not an option but finding active lobbies shouldn't be an issue. Myself I never joined random lobbies, though, as this is yet another game I played with @Mori, to whom I need to apologize for tagging him in what feels every second post I make these days ?

Anyways, I should clarify what I mean… I think that this game is not well balanced for solo-play. Enemies are plentiful and all aggro pretty quickly, so it's not uncommon to be overwhelmed, especially in the beginning where crowd-control is still difficult due to the lack of proper gear and weapon-mods (more on those later). Thus, playing in coop we would always warn each other, "enemies behind you!" or "there is an Elite enemy running towards you", making it easier to maintain the upper hand in battle.

But I think that where playing in coop makes the most difference is during boss fights, both minibosses and final bosses. Some might dislike this, but bosses in this game rely a lot on spawning minions to keep you occupied. The main boss itself is usually pretty aggressive, but would be manageable on its own. But every single boss we fought (with one exception that I can think of) would at some point start spawning minions, regular enemies from the area that would immediately swarm you and force you to retreat and deal with them before continuing to shoot the main baddy. Now, swarms of enemies can be pretty deadly on their own, but when you need to also avoid the bosses AoE attacks, having a teammate to help decimate the minions quickly is a huge advantage. Overall, at least the main bosses really feel unique and are super fun to fight.

 

Each of the four areas really feels unique. This one is the darkest of them all. 

 

So, what about RPG elements and equipment? This is something that they nailed as well. Let's talk weapons and armor first. There are many equipment-sets that can be found during your playthrough, and which provide different set boni such as increased ranged damage or faster running speed. That being said, we spend most of our initial playthrough wearing our standard armor, as it took a while for us to find a new set out in the world. This might have been due to the RNG and the dungeons that spawned, but it was still noticeable. As for weapons, there is a huge variety of them, both regular and boss-weapons. Regular weapons have an empty slot that can be socketed with a so-called "mod", which allows to use a special attack that can be released when enough mod-energy has been gathered (by fighting enemies). Boss-weapons are weapons that can be crafted after fighting a boss, and they come with a pre-equipped mod that mimics the main signature-attack of the defeated boss. Some bosses directly drop a material to craft a mod instead, which is neat as well if you would rather keep your favorite weapon equipped but change its special attack.

Upgrade materials are also very common, which makes it very easy to experiment with different weapons and equipment. ?

 

Has to be mentioned, you also have a melee weapon, and there are many items that try to make a melee-build more viable. That being said, I don't think that a pure melee build can be very successful. Not only does melee feel clunky, there are also many bosses with weak spots in hard to reach places, and there is even a "moonlight-butterfly"-style boss that never even enters your melee-range. Melee is rather used when you're swarmed to gain a bit of breathing room, though I'm sure that someone already beat the game with melee only without leveling up… ?

 

As for the RPG elements, you have a constant XP curve, i.e. getting from lv. 1 to lv. 2 takes as much XP as getting from lv. 130 to lv. 131. What do you do with all the attribute points you gain from leveling up? Well, you spend them on "traits". There are 32 traits in the game, and most are unlocked by performing certain actions often enough, such as killing enemies, reviving your teammate, etc… You can level up your health and stamina, increase your reload speed, your movement speed, your critical damage, your resistance to elemental attacks… There are a lot of options and you better focus on a handful instead of trying to level up everything, but it allows for a huge build diversity.

 

On a technical level, this game still has plenty of flaws. There is quite a bit of lag rather often, the loading times are a bit insulting and we experienced bugs where our special attacks would just not work, even after reloading the game. The game runs better than Darksiders III for sure, but for one that's not saying much, and secondly it should be judged on its own… It's not optimized, and it shows. But despite those flaws, this game is too much fun to ignore.

 

 

100% Challenge

 

Initially the game felt a tad challenging, mostly due to lack of weapons and mods for crowd control. But as the game went on and we geared up it became quite the cakewalk. Enemies scale to the level of the highest level player in a party, so you cannot really outlevel enemies. But with the right equipment and traits you can still become pretty OP.

 

We went into the game thinking that we would need to do the plat twice, as trophies used to only unlock for the host. That's fortunately no longer the case! This fact is however not reflected in the trophy guide on this site, which is outdated in many other ways as well. However, trophies are still a bit buggy and some didn't pop when they should have (or they popped too early..), but all popped in the end.

 

Most of the trophies are story-related or achieved for defeating certain bosses, leveling up weapons, collecting enough traits and armor sets, etc… With the addition of Adventure Mode, cleaning up after one single playthrough is very straightforward and smooth, as you can re-roll individual worlds instead of having to replay the entire campaign over and over hoping to find the bosses or dungeons you are missing. It is thus a perfect game for playing blind the first time around, and that's something I always appreciate.

It took us longer than I want to admit to figure out what to do during the last boss of the game, but who cares ? Otherwise, we defeated most of the minibosses and final bosses on our first or second attempt, which is why I cannot give this game more than a 5/10, if that, though it might have started out as a 6/10. 

 

There is a single trophy that needs to be achieved in solo play, which is beating one main boss solo without taking damage. This might sound intimidating, but just use the "Swarm"-mod and just watch the boss burn. Honestly that is hands down the most OP mod in the game and makes this trophy pretty easy.

 

 

If you can find a partner and think this might be something for you, then just go ahead and play it… I hope you'll like it as much as I did. ?

Edited February 7, 2020 by Arcesius

[ZoutjeNL]

Well done! I loved Remnant, it is great but has some flaws in my opinion. First if you play together that the host only obtains story related trophies. Also I found the game getting a bit too repetive after a while. Also I felt the same way about melee as you described, a pure melee build doesn't seem that great. It is nice to see a change to the Dark Souls formula though by playing with guns which worked out nicely. Overall an enjoyable experience altough I wouldn't rate it as high as you, but I am glad you enjoyed it that much.

 

Good luck on the next objective. WipEout Omega collection good luck with all those gold medals. With your skill I am sure you manage! 

[Arcesius]

On 2/13/2020 at 10:22 AM, ZoutjeNL said:

Well done! I loved Remnant, it is great but has some flaws in my opinion. First if you play together that the host only obtains story related trophies.

 

Thanks! We expected this to be the case, but it has been fixed ? now all players get all trophies, also story-related ones. 

 

 

Quote

Also I found the game getting a bit too repetive after a while.

 

I get you. But since trophies pop for the non-host as well, we only needed to play through the campaign 1.5 times and did the clean up in Adventure Mode. Overall we got the plat in around 30 hours, so there was not enough time for the game to get repetitive... Back in the day when it took 50-60 h I would probably have felt the same! ?

 

Quote

Overall an enjoyable experience altough I wouldn't rate it as high as you, but I am glad you enjoyed it that much.

 

I have to admit, it was also just a joy playing it with Mori. Not sure if I would have enjoyed as much solo, but that's of course not related to the game itself directly... It still influenced my rating, of course ?

 

Quote

 

 

 

 

 

Alright guys, some news... I also finished Jotun, and I have to apologize to @Copanele, but the review is probably not gonna come that soon... But I have a good reason for it!

 

My son was born on Monday 10 February 2020!

 

So yeah.. I would love to comment on your checklists, reply to your status updates, participate in your discussions,... But right now we're trying to figure out how to take care of our little creature ? 

 

That also applies to gaming, of course.. I'll see if I can slowly get back to my console, but it will for sure take a while before we have a routine. But I have WipEout, Darkest Dungeon and XCOM2 as games that can be played in very short bursts, so let's see! What I'm not so sure about is if I'll be awake enough once I find the time ?

 

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by Arcesius

[Copanele]

6 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

 

Alright guys, some news... I also finished Jotun, and I have to apologize to @Copanele, but the review is probably not gonna come that soon... But I have a good reason for it!

 

My son was born on Monday 10 February 2020!

 

So yeah.. I would love to comment on your checklists, reply to your status updates, participate in your discussions,... But right now we're trying to figure out how to take care of our little creature  

 

That also applies to gaming, of course.. I'll see if I can slowly get back to my console, but it will for sure take a while before we have a routine. But I have WipEout, Darkest Dungeon and XCOM2 as games that can be played in very short bursts, so let's see! What I'm not so dire about is if I'll be awake enough once I find the time 

 

 

Holy damn man, congratulations! Cheers to your most satisfying 10/10 challenge yet to come There is time for reviews afterwards! 

[S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y]

Meine Glückwünsche zur Geburt? ich hoffe es ist alles gut verlaufen und alle sind gesund ?

[KN_Kirai]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

My son was born on Monday 10 February 2020!

 

So yeah.. I would love to comment on your checklists, reply to your status updates, participate in your discussions,... But right now we're trying to figure out how to take care of our little creature  

 

 

Oh congratulations, man! And good luck on all your future duties as a parent ?