Kill Your Completion 9

[dizzyshadow]

Game 3 : No Heroes Allowed! VR

 

 

I keep calling this game No More Heroes, in fact there is a good chance i have called it that in a previous post, but that is an entirely different game on Nintendo systems.

 

But this is a VR game based on the No Heroes Allowed series which had a few games on the PSP/Vita, i've always intended to play them but never actually got round to it, so when i heard about this i was keen to give it a go. This game is actually a fairly basic RTS, you are the god of destruction, and have been summoned by Badman and his daughter Badmella to help them take over the realm. Badman and Badmella are quite entertaining as your guides and companions throughout the game and their humour does make it very enjoyable. As with any game of the genre where you play the baddies it takes influences from Dungeon Keeper. the key mechanics of the gameplay are you build nests to create monsters which you have to ensure are fed so they can breed and evolve to improve your army. The food chain is actually the main element of the game as the stronger monsters eat your weaker monsters for food so you have to ensure you keep things balanced to ensure your army thrives. This is actually quite an interesting mechanic and the game itself is surprisingly fun. However there are some complaints, firstly the length i knew it was short but i wasn't aware quite how short (3-4 hours in total), its also really quite easy, only the final level offers any real challenge on normal difficulty, you also have very little direct control over your monsters which can be frustrating when they don't do what you want. But for me the pluses outweigh the negatives.

 

Finally as it is a VR game i should mention how this works, the world is made to look as if it is set out on a table in front of you, and you can move your head around to change your view point , as i'm finding with most VR games this feels a bit gimicky rather than something that actually impact the game significantly, but it does give a unique perspective.

 

Overall i'm glad i played and just sorry it wasn't longer.

 

 

Playtime : 4 hours

Rating:  would have been  if it was longer

Trophies : 28/28

Completion 56.9% (+0.13%)

 

 

Next Up: Bridge Constructor : Portal

[voodoo_eyes]

11 minutes ago, DamagingRob said:

Can't see what's in the spoiler, but I think some of the events were a little off in that guide. :/ Or the way it was laid out just made it a bit confusing. 

 

Yeah for some reason, that spoiler tag stopped working for me as well.

 

I was referring to this:

 

1. Finish the Tutorial (choices don't matter, but don't choose last choice for every selection).

• In 2nd playthrough, this is a real battle.

2. To the Freedom Fighter Base MOGRA [警団アジト「モグラ」へ] Partner: Shizuku
* Make a separate save data here, in case you want to get multiple endings (for all heroines) in 1 playthrough.

• Event at Electric Town Plaza [電気街改札口を通]
• Fight against 2 vampires
• Go to MOGRA [モグラ]

Choice: (16th)

1. I'll go with Shizuku [♥] [雫と行く【Shizuku♥】]
2. I'll go with Tohko [♥] [トーコと行く【Tohko♥】]
3. I'll go with Kati [カティと行く]

. Off to the Battle Arena [闘技場へ] Partner: Shizuku / Tohko

• Event at Junk Street [ジャンク通り]
• Clear the test
  • => Chain Strip is unlocked
• Go back to MOGRA

 

The whole bit in orange doesn't trigger after leaving the MOGRA once the tutorial is over. Subsequently the choice bit also isn't available. So either the location specified is wrong or there is information missing relevant for the event to initiate (and yes I have Shizuku as partner).

 

The only interactable people in that area is a girl that wants donations and another one that gives out a flyer. Neither have anything indicating that they are involved in an event (if it's even signalised at all), There's also no one that attacks me in that area.

Edited March 10, 2019 by voodoo_eyes

[DamagingRob]

5 minutes ago, voodoo_eyes said:

I was referring to this

Yeah, I think that event triggers a bit later on. Not immediately after the tutorial. Most (maybe all?) of them are hard to miss, and you really just need the guide for dialogue choices to get on the ending path you want. 

[voodoo_eyes]

8 minutes ago, DamagingRob said:

Yeah, I think that event triggers a bit later on. Not immediately after the tutorial. Most (maybe all?) of them are hard to miss, and you really just need the guide for dialogue choices to get on the ending path you want. 

 

Thanks for confirming my suspicion. Well, now I can blame the guide for beating the crap out of the donation girl, to try and see if it would trigger an event .

Edited March 10, 2019 by voodoo_eyes

[Kevvik]

Game #4: Moon Hunters

 

Initial Impressions

Time played: 5 hrs

 

Moon Hunters is a 3rd person hack-n-slash RPG of sorts. You play a pre-fab character, chosen from a collection of characters a la Gauntlet style. You can play with up to 4 players in that vein also. Slightly different classes from the usual, the defaults being Spellblade whose sword creates a whirlwind while repetitively attacking, Druid, Witch and another I don't remember so magic plays a part in most attacks. You have a default attack, a special attack and a defensive move (dash, teleport, etc). There are a few unlockable characters as well.

 

The story starts with you heading to your village. After a festival, the moon does not appear. This portends badly and you go forth in order to find the moon, you eventually are confronted by a rep from the Sun who claims that the Moon has been driven back and that a new era will begin. Oh but you won't see it because he is going to kill you in 3 days because you represent the old ways. That's the gist of this game's story. It lasts 5 days and each time you camp when you complete an area, a day ends.

 

The levels are procedurally generated, though you have several to choose from each day after the festival ends. Levels have merchants where you can buy upgrades with currency obtained from defeating enemies, destroying environmental items and random finds. Each area has an arena-like battle within it and may contain NPCs or events which can help the character grow. Interactions with NPCs are usually choice based interactions which can buff or deplete your stats and/or give you a reputation (Seductive, Cunning, Wise). You fight the boss at the end of the game in a small, confined arena. Then you get an ending based on your actions/decisions.  The game is simple and straightforward and I'm enjoying it. I've done 4 playthroughs so far with different characters, each having its own benefits and weaknesses.

 

If you die during a level, you crawl off to the camp. If you complete the level, you head off to camp for the night as well. In camp you have standard activities of cooking, resting, hunting, stargazing and standing watch. Each raises different stats to allow you to develop your character. Certain NPCs may visit your camp as well with the same decision making which can raise or lower stats similar to their daytime interactions.

 

Trophies pop at the end of each game as well as the formation of constellations based on your decisions and ending outcomes. Getting all the constellations is probably going to be a pain as you aren't really given any specific info on how you achieve them.  I can see this game requiring many playthroughs in order to complete the trophy list and it's probably going to feel like a good grind by the time I'm done.

 

Overall, I'm liking it. The grind doesn't feel bad so far. The only drawback is that none of the systems are really explained at all so it's a lot of experimenting and guesswork at first. Still, it's fairly simple to follow after a couple of run throughs.

 

Trophies earned: 9/42, 16% for C rank

Score so far: 6/10

Edited March 11, 2019 by Kevvik

[Caju_94]

Hey guys, sorry for not reviwing anything. Unfortunately, I will choose to not "forfeit" my participation in this edition. Reason is, I'm going to be very busy in the days to come due to off-work projects.

 

It does not mean I won't have time to game, and I would have the time to play 5 games for at least 3 hours this month, but since I will have less time than usual, I prefer to grab games I started recently before the event and get a couple of platinums (like KH3, Spyro 2&3, Akiba's Trip...). 

 

Still, I will be reading the reviews around here, since I really enjoyed being part of the last edition. Might participate in KYC X!!!  

Edited March 11, 2019 by Caju_94

[Arctic Cress]

I have also been extremely busy last week and over the weekend, only getting to play my first game for less than three hours so far. I definitely will have time tonight so I'll post a review on that one, and with 20 days left in the month I'll modify my schedule to play the other 4 games for 5 days each, which should be fine.

[SuperSmash5U]

7 hours ago, Caju_94 said:

Hey guys, sorry for not reviwing anything. Unfortunately, I will choose to not "forfeit" my participation in this edition. Reason is, I'm going to be very busy in the days to come due to off-work projects.

 

It does not mean I won't have time to game, and I would have the time to play 5 games for at least 3 hours this month, but since I will have less time than usual, I prefer to grab games I started recently before the event and get a couple of platinums (like KH3, Spyro 2&3, Akiba's Trip...). 

 

Still, I will be reading the reviews around here, since I really enjoyed being part of the last edition. Might participate in KYC X!!!  

I understand how you feel, buddy. I have similar issues only it's my old bones keeping me asleep and not letting me game, or just getting distracted by YouTube instead of playing the games. I am trying to get through the main story of KH3, and I platted all of the Spyro games so I can assure you they are pretty fun(except for Gulp, screw Gulp, thanks to him I have to wear dentures on my upper jaw 24/7 because I gnashed my teeth after fighting this f'king boss and getting killed over and over and lost a tooth to him. ).

[ImBossy83]

Final thoughts Game #1

Handball 16 (PS3)

 

Since i got the Platinum yesterday i'm going to write my final thoughts.
This game was bad, I mean really bad. It is the objectively worst game i've platinumed. The gameplay is very clunky and oftentimes you simply don't now what just happens or why the opponent and not your player picked up the ball. And they made some very odd Design choices, for example, in career mode you can upgrade your Player but when you upgrade him the changes in the stats won't show up on the pre match screen until you are transfered to another team.
But for all the misstakes i still liked my time. It's this strange thing that sometimes kicks in when you're going for a platinum. When playing the game itself somehow becomes unimportant and its just this ticking off boxes thing that keeps you going. 
It took me about 10 hours to get the Plat and there was nothing too difficult to the game after i learned how to score easy goals. The guide here on Psnprofiles from@JoaoQuiquewas really helpful so thanks for that. 

Edited March 11, 2019 by ImBossy83

[Fr_0zt]

Well shiet....

 

 

??

[Gretchen27]

@voodoo_eyes

I’ve played both. Trip is far better than Beat; I think I suffered from Stockholm syndrome with Pinkun because by the end I was thinking of him as an adorable love to hate character. The support character’s repetitive voice bites really got annoying after a few hours, even if you switched them up. Things can get repetitive in Trip as well, but it’ll take less time to complete & IIRC once you clear the game you can get a hint bonus that displays a character icon for affection raising choices.

 

@MidnightDragon

You might want to double check the settings menu for Tetris Effect. I know during the random mode you can get a zoomed in screen. Don’t see why this wouldn’t have been added into the settings somewhere.

[voodoo_eyes]

@Gretchen27 Yeah, the support characters in Beat are the worst ever. Every time you would walk past a save point, or shop the open their trap. It's like the devs didn't play their own game until the end, otherwise I'm sure they would have realised after the odd 50 hours it takes to beat once, how annoying it is.

 

I've only put an hour into Akiba's Trip yet, and already noticed that it'll become repetitive quickly. I'll still put another 2 hours in to reach the 3 minimum, but I'm already fairly sure on how I stand with that game.

Edited March 12, 2019 by voodoo_eyes

[Arctic Cress]

Game #1 - Yakuza 0

 

Trophies: 8/55 (11% - E)

Play Time: 6 hours

 

After playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 during last KYC and beating it during the last few months, I decided to finally go back to Yakuza 0 and start that before I head onwards - and more importantly, get some backstory into the Kiwami games as Majima's story in Kiwami 2 draws from his storyline in 0.

 

Anyway, Yakuza 0 follows two protagonists - Kazuma Kiryu, the lead character of the other games in the series, and Goro Majima, a minor but important character in those games as well. The setting is 1988, seven years before the beginning of Kiryu's story in the first game. Unlike the previous games, Kiryu is just a low-ranked yakuza. He gets framed for a murder he did not commit in a highly contested piece of land in Kamurocho, and it's up to him to clear his name. Meanwhile, over in Sotenbori, Majima is the manager of a thriving cabaret club known as the Grand. He regards it as a prison, as he works there trying to make enough money to become a yakuza again. Unlike Kiwami and Kiwami 2, 0 throws you into the action very fast and has the best first chapter of them all, which really sets the story as the main focus. There are many more cutscenes in this game's chapters than those other two games, and even though the story was not my focus in previous games it's definitely welcome here.

 

Having played Kiwami and Kiwami 2, I'm quite familiar with the layout of both cities and can find my way easily. Though, the lack of the Millennium Tower is definitely something I'll need to get used to as it just seems... odd, to say the least. Several shops are obviously not present or just not open at this time, which adds to the difficulty a bit, but many of the shops are places I've committed to memory, like Don Quixote or Smile Burger.

 

The combat system makes a welcome return from Kiwami, though this game actually came first so it might be the other way around. Kiryu can fight with the Brawler, Rush and Beast styles, while Majima has the Thug and Slugger styles. I assume there are more for both of them, but that's all I've unlocked so far as of the beginning of Chapter 4. Having the multiple styles again makes the combat feel fresh as you can switch styles to use different movesets depending on it. I'm not much of a fan of Majima's Slugger style, but I suppose I'll get used to it eventually, and I have a feeling I'll need it at some point.

 

Unlike the other games, this game is fueled entirely with money. You get yen from doing basically anything, including beating up enemies and clearing chapters. Yen is used to unlock new abilities for both characters, as well as for many other tasks between the two. No experience points required this time around. You can get bonuses in battle for fulfilling certain tasks - I was racking up five bonuses on some enemies and turning a regular three thug battle into 500,000 yen. That's a lot... in most Yakuza games. Not here, though. Skills past the first circle cost 2,000,000 yen each, so I assume it will only keep increasing from that.

 

I have only done a few substories at the moment. The game has up to 100, much more than either Kiwami or Kiwami 2, 60 for Kiryu and 40 for Majima. A lot of the storylines in some of these are very well-written from what I've seen so far, though the ones where you just to talk to a sales clerk don't really seem like they warrant a +1 for substories. I assume they eventually lead to something bigger, but eh. The actual ones are much more exciting.

 

Regardless, like the previous two Yakuza games I've played for KYC I will definitely keep playing this after the event, and hopefully head towards the platinum. I hear there's a car chase in it though, which already scares me from my Kiwami platinum attempt, which did not work out very well.

 

Starting completion: 69.87%

Current completion: 69.76%

Difference: -0.11%

 

Not too much of a starting drop, as I pushed Jump Force to the end of its story mode, getting up to 70% completion in the process, as well as obtaining some miscellaneous trophies in Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds. I'll be playing both for the 10 Things I Hate About Games event but I don't expect either to increase the completion too much. Also decreasing my completion is a new DLC pack for DJMAX Respect being pushed out last week, and I'll probably be purchasing that one soon. Doesn't look like there were any easy trophies on a quick glance but I could be completely wrong.

 

Next stop is to the shinobi school with Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal. I played and beat the original game on the 3DS (both stories) so I'm interested on how the game translates from a 2D sidescroller to a 3D plane, as well as if any changes were made to the overall story. Should be interesting enough!

[Metal Slime King]

Game #2 - Gauntlet ()

Gauntlet is a remake of the old school overhead dungeon crawler which feels very close to it's roots and allows players to relive some of that classic Gauntlet action in an updated format for a more modern release. There are two main modes; campaign and endless that you can play online with friends or randoms or offline. In both modes you crawl your way through dungeons towards the level exit, fighting through hordes of enemies. Running through dungeons increases your gold count which you can use to buy new weapons, relics and armor. Weapons and relics alter game play but the armor appears to be cosmetic. I wouldn't really say the weapons you buy are a linear progression of overall strength, they just play differently so the most expensive weapon may not be the one that you want.

 

In all honesty, it's a little dull. The action is pretty samey and the trophies appear to be quite grindy. You just have to run a lot of dungeons with all the characters, do a certain amount of damage and take quite a bit of damage for most of the trophies. The graphics are passable but nothing special, the music is pretty dull, there's not a lot of polish. If you love Gauntlet then this would probably be a great re-visit for you but short of that there's not a lot to recommend it.

[Edunstar84]

Game #2 - Zero Escape: The Nonary Games - First Impressions

 

Playtime: 1.5 hours

Trophies: 0/38 

 

Sooo.... I wrote a really nice, concise review, then I had to answer a Messenger call, and it disappeared. Sigh.

 

The Nonary Games consists of 2 games: 999 and Virtue's Last Reward. The game I'm playing is 999, which is the prequel that centers around 9 clueless people who have been kidnapped and put on a slowly sinking ship. There only way of escape is to work together and solve puzzles that opens doors to other puzzles and possibly a way out. The rub is that they have to solve them all within 9 hours.

 

To be honest I suck at puzzles. I've never been to an Escape Room, and I never will. Even with a guide, I still have a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to put objects together. However, I enjoy the visual novel aspect of the game. I'm really interested to see the relationships and the dynamics among the 9. 

 

I expected to like this game from the get-go (you know because of the massive hype and the huge following), but it's been like similar Japanese VNs so far. Though it could turn out like Steins;Gate, and completely blow my mind in the middle of the game. As of right now I can't really recommend this game to anyone. 

[crimsonidol38]

No interim post about Psychedelica as it doesn't make much sense to post about a VN. And I got way too distracted by other games, again.

Will post a review by tomorrow evening when the second timeslot is officially over. For now, let's post a preview for game #3.

 

Game 3, Preview:
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PS3)

 

I only played the first two God of Wars back in 2016 but didn't play any other of the games until now (excluding the few minutes I played Ascension just to get the one online-related trophy). God of War was okay but I didn't really like it. II on the other hand was quite enjoyable and I had a lot of fun. Still remember some sections like the Steeds of Time (that view was awesome  ).

Well, but what do I expect expect of God of War: Chains of Olympus? Hopefully a more enjoyable Hack'n'Slay than the first installment but it will probably be less fun than God of War II. As it's a port of a PSP-game I expect the visuals to be not as "good" as the PS2-games (GoW I looks rather ugly on PS3, whereas II looked quite good IMO). Don't know what to expect of the story and I honestly don't care about it. I just hope that the gameplay is decent and that it might raise my interest in the series again so I finally get some motivation to finish the remaining games III, Ghost of Sparta and Ascension. 

[voodoo_eyes]

21 minutes ago, Crimson Idol said:

No interim post about Psychedelica as it doesn't make much sense to post about a VN. And I got way too distracted by other games, again.

Will post a review by tomorrow evening when the second timeslot is officially over. For now, let's post a preview for game #3.

 

Game 3, Preview:
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PS3)

 

Personally I thought that Chains of Olympus, as well as Ghosts of Sparta were in-between GoW I and II quality-wise.

[crimsonidol38]

19 minutes ago, voodoo_eyes said:

Personally I thought that Chains of Olympus, as well as Ghosts of Sparta were in-between GoW I and II quality-wise.

 

Personally I don't expect a "console-quality" game on a handheld but that it's at least on similar level quality-wise is surely good to hear. At least the games have the bonus that they aren't like some Vita-based spinoffs and use some stupid gimmicks of the device as the PSP had none. *cough* Uncharted: Golden Abyss *cough*

[voodoo_eyes]

Game #4 - Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed - Final Impression

 

 

Time played between 2-3 hours

Trophies earned: 2/46

 

 

I don't think I ended up reaching the 3 hour mark here. In the records it's about an hour and 55 minutes, but I ended up reloading a lot of battles, as I decided to go with "gamer" difficulty. That must be the equivalent to hard, as in half of the battles I kept getting my ass handed to me.

 

So about the game. It's Action-RPG, that has the premise of vampires being among the general population and you need to destroy them. The only way to do that is by stripping off their clothes. Well done Japan, for coming up the the weirdest shit possible.

 

Honestly the game overall screams mediocrity. The visuals that are a blurryish (here's a new word for you internet, you're welcome) representation of a district in Tokyo and it's inhabitants. Poorly rendered cars drive through the streets and people walk around awkwardly with no sense of direction. While the representation of Akihabara is supposedly fairly accurate, it still feels kind of lackluster.

 

The disctrict is divided into separate blocks, which are connected through streets. Unfortunately every block is separated by a loading screen. Even though it's a lot shorter than the ones in Akiba's Beat, it's still a nuisance. On the bright side, it can be somewhat bypassed by fast-travelling to the various areas, which at least reduces the amount of loading screens you get to see.

 

The gameplay, consists of main and side quests, shopping for items and combat. To sum it up it's just plain simplistic. The combat itself , while it's fairly fluid, it's still clunky at the same time. This comes down to having to target the areas of clothing (head, torso, legs). Once there are several enemies on screen, which is mostly the case, the combat system just feels out of place. It's like it's hack-and-slash combat, but it doesn't quite work because you need to individually target enemies and the respective areas on their bodies. Granted you can hit several enemies at once, but due to the combat structure it doesn't quite work. If one enemy only has his shirt left and another a beanie, the targeting of body parts becomes pointless, as even hitting both, mainly affects only one of them. The weapons are pretty much any random crap, umbrellas, posters, monitors, gumball machines... the latter has such a long wind-up to perform an attack, that it's pretty much impossible to get a hit in before you get the living shit beaten out of you.

 

 

I keep getting more and more the feeling, that devs during their meetings throughout the development cycle, just sit there and have actual brain farts. Not listening to what's being presented and just heari the buzzwords... strip, vampires, beat... sounds great make the game.

Honestly, if you want to play a game that involves stripping characters, go play any Senran Kagura game, which might be more lewd or whatever, but it also is a lot more fun.

 

 

So yeah, this one igets the same rating as X-Blades, albeit due to different reasons. While X-Blades was stiff as hell to play and looked like crap, Akiba's trip, just is plain bornig. There is a sense of artificial depth in the combat that doesn't synergize well. It's a borderline (still better than Beat, by miles).

Edited March 13, 2019 by voodoo_eyes

[voodoo_eyes]

Game #5 - Saw 2 - Preview

 

 

Here we are with another questionable game quality-wise. I very much enjoy the Saw movies, the games however seem to be more along the lines of a quick cash grab.

 

I played the first game a few years back, and though it was alright. The combat was the weakest bit in that one, as it was extremely clunky and imprecise. Well, as far as I know they dumbed down the combat completely in this seuquel, making it all quick time events. What joy!

 

At this point I just hope it's at least playable.

 

 

Random bit of trivia. The developer apparently made a bunch of training simulator games specifically for the US Army.

[Gretchen27]

Game 2: Final Impressions

 

The Sims 3: Pets

 

Enjoyment: 10/10

Trophies: 11/51

Play time: More than required (much more)

Percent change: -1.22%

 

The Sims 3 was a good game, Pets is a tad better, namely because of the Mystery Chapters. The Urbz: Sims in the City (DS version) was/is still my favorite Sims game because of the story & quests it takes to complete it. Pets doesn’t have a story, but the Mystery Chapters are close to side quests. I’ve finished up 2 so far; the Pirate Treasure & the Lassie infringing one. They take several steps to complete with the use of the Sims & their pets. Steps can range from simply visiting a place to needing to build up certain skills & a bit of luck to accomplish a goal. You’re then rewarded with the next little page of the story (sometimes special in-game items). They’re a more interesting way to build up skills as opposed to grinding them for a job promotion. By the time I get through them I bet my Sims/Pets will be close to maxed out for a good number of skills.

 

My household consists of 2 Sims, 1 dog, & 1 cat. Both Sims are around the 7^th level of their respective career ladders. So income is good without making use of the jackpot Karma power (though I have unlocked it). I’m sticking to my starter house till I get around 200K & build a mansion from the ground up. Karma powers are also pretty good in this game. At least I find myself earning points & using them more than I ever did for 3. I’ve just unlocked the transmogrify power (turning a pet to human or vice versa) but haven’t used it yet. Interesting concept, I’ll use it on a separate save though because I doubt skills would transfer back over if you change them back to their original species.

 

Graphics wise it’s okay. Been spoiled too long with PS4 games, going back to something from 2011 just feels strange. It’s held up well enough if you’re okay with having to zoom in to see those details you spent so much time on in the creator or build modes. But hovering over your household the details are fuzzy. All I’m saying is don’t waste your time with fancy wallpaper, best to stick with solid color designs.

 

Slowdowns. It’s a Sims game, they’ve always been this way on console & sometimes on PC. Never did have issues on the DS. Most times it pauses like it’s about to crash, just a breath of a pause, usually doesn’t though. & then there’s the typical delay between setting up actions & the Sim actually getting around to them where they simply stand around for 15-20 in game minutes (seconds real time). These slowdowns are pretty frequent & I’ve made a habit of saving whenever a challenge gets accomplished. Ideally every new in game day.

 

The game did freeze on me for the first time last night. Just as I was trying out the praise/scold system on a random cat, guess I’m not allowed to do that. Only sour note to complain about, still love The Sims. Glad I started it, now someone please get me to stop playing it 

 

On deck: Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate I’ll be posting my initial impressions tomorrow night.

[DamagingRob]

Game 2, Final Review: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

 

All you need to know about this game.  This one was kind of a mixed bag. I enjoyed playing through it, but the trophies just make it a tedious task.. You have to not raise an alarm, not kill anyone, and be on the lookout for a ton of missables. eBooks are especially annoying, sometimes being placed in a very annoying spot, surrounded by enemies. Without a guide, you will most likely miss a lot. 

 

Since the trophies emphasize stealth, you probably won't be using your combat abilities much. Or at all. The only one I used with regularity, was the temporary invisibility cloak. I probably didn't even need some of the ones I bought. Rarely used remote hacking. But a lot of the others the guide recommended were helpful. Being able to jump higher, punch through weak walls, lift heavier objects, and breathe while walking through gas all give you more options to get through places. There are often many paths you can take to complete a mission, and it's up to you to decide the best route. 

 

The combat abilities are kind of neat, but again, you probably won't really use them if you're going for the trophies. Stuff like a shield, a "Force" push, an ability that can electrocute up to 4 enemies at once, and more. There are also a lot of guns, which you likely won't be using. Though the stun gun and tranquilizer rifle could be helpful. I tried not to knock people out, 'cause I figured the bodies might be discovered. :/ 

 

I really liked the game world and exploring it. But... for reasons I won't go into due to spoilers, the last time you're in the open world part is just dumb. You even get a brand new travel loading screen that is equally dumb. And loading screens... these are atrocious. I'm talking 30+ seconds anytime you have to reload a save, or travel to another part of the city. Suffice it to say, I was sitting through many of these, as I had to reload my saves a lot. 

 

I'm also not sure why Foxiest of the Hounds didn't pop. I still get the alarm tutorial near the end of the game, so it doesn't really make sense. All that effort to reload my saves whenever I got spotted, just to have to attempt it again I guess on the hardest difficulty.. Which is also a permadeath mode, so on top of everything else, I'll be backing up and downloading saves. I never asked for this is right! 

 

So yeah, unless you love stealth games, I don't know if I'd recommend this one. It is a good stealth game, though. Just made an absolute nightmare for trophy hunters.. And I haven't even tried Breach Mode which apparently sucks, yay. Probably somewhere between a and a score.

 

Time played: Too long. 25-30 hours maybe. 

Trophy progress: 44/82 for 52% and an A rank.

Completion Percentage Drop: -0.12% (-0.19% overall).

 

@PooPooBlast You wanted to know what I thought about this, so here's a tag.

 

Game 3, Preview: Persona 5

 

Well, this one should be a better game. At least, everyone seems to think it's amazing. Which is kind of what I thought about P4G, and have loved everything related to that game I have played. Was that one a one hit wonder? Or will this one be just as good? Better? Worse? Only one way to find out. 

[MidnightDragon]

Switched Yakuza 0 with Assassin's Creed II. I'm a dumbass and forgot that I don't actually own Yakuza 0 right now. I mistook it for Kiwami, which I have from Plus. Been enjoying reading all the reviews.

Edited March 13, 2019 by MidnightDragon

[Metal Slime King]

Game #3 - Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. Initial thoughts - It's a trap! Secure your wallet and run away.

 

8 hours ago, Gretchen27 said:

Just as I was trying out the praise/scold system on a random cat, guess I’m not allowed to do that.

You can try scolding a cat but chances are kitty don't care.

[crimsonidol38]

Game 2, Review:

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (PS Vita)

Previous Posts: Preview

 

Me right now:

Spoiler

 

Well, like the image suggests I'm way too distracted by other games but I guess that totally fits the spirit of the event as I won't be able to raise my completion. Right?  But to be honestI feel some kind of regret after reading a bit of this game's story yesterday as it "finally" reached the point where it gets interesting. But what is Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly about?

 

Like mentioned in my preview PofBB is an otome with a mystery setting. I won't go much into detail about the story as it only starts to unfold for myself but it can be simplified in the following way:
The main character Ai Minato (whom you can freely name) wakes up in a foreign mansion without any memories of her past. Shortly after she gets in contact with some random people wearing animal masks, four guys aka potential love interests (whom also suffer from amnesia), and monsters that are after their blood. Similar to the Zero Escape- or Danganronpa-series Ai and her companions get tasked to fulfill a specific duty by some kind of master mind, which is to recreate a kaleidoscope. They don't get told why they have to do that but they get to know that they will be able to regain their memories and leave that mansion which is all locked up. To recreate the kaleidoscope they have to fight the monsters with guns that happen to appear by the power of magic imagination. Why's that? Well, that's a mystery to find out.

 

The gameplay is similar to most other VNs. The main story is divided into several chapters and from time to time you are able to make different choices which determine the route you will be locked into. Similar to the Zero Escape-games Psychedelica also features a flowchart which gives you the possibility to see the branches of the story and you are also able to jump back and forth between those chapters. Besides the main story there are also some short episodes which are lined up on the side. They feature some aspects that aren't mentioned in the main story and they mostly are about the everyday life in the mansion. Those episodes can be unlocked once you fulfill specific criteria like ending a chapter, or choosing a specific choice and by using some ingame currency.

This ingame currency can be earned by hunting the monsters in a minigame. To hunt them you have to shoot black butterflies in some kind of shooting gallery. To get points you first have to lock on a butterfly and shoot it by pressing a specific button (either on screen or facial buttons) afterwards. You can get higher scores by locking on multiple butterflies and shoot them at once. After playing the minigame for a given amount of times you seem to level up and unlock stages where you have to shoot even more butterflies, resulting in a higher amount of points and currency.

Besides a few sections in the story you also have the possibilty to play the minigame from the main menu and there are trophies related to get specific ranks which seem to be quite easy.

 

Story-wise I'm enjoying the game so far and I'm curious what will happen next although I expect the game to fulfill at least some tropes like the fact that many, if not all of the characters know each other. What I really like about the game is the style. The whole game tends to use muted colors and has a quite dark atmosphere in a mansion which features some kind of victorian style, which looks quite nice. The same applies for the characters. Although the game seems to play in today's era all the main characters are wearing some outfits that resemble a feudal japanese style. Some examples can be seen below:

Spoiler

 

In the bottom picture you can also see the side character Usagi. Normally I'm not really into squiggly outfits and such but I have to say that designs like hers really look nice!

 

Although I barely spend any time with the game I have to say that I'm really looking forward to continue it. As the chapters and short episodes are rather short (one chapter about 45 minutes to 1 hour so far, short episodes 5 to 10 minutes) I will probably chip away at the story over the course of the event as I'm curious how everything will turn out. Rating-wise I'm not sure what to give as I tend to place it somewhere between a  and a  but I lean towards a -rating. 

 

Stats:

Rating:

Total playing time: ~4.5hours
Trophies earned: 7 / 34
Completion rate: 12%

Rank: E
Did the game lower my completion? Yes

 

My ratings:

 AWESOME!!!  
 That was time well spent
 Solid game, might come back to it
 When there's good, there's bad. This here is, ehm..., acceptable?
 Gimme an option to delete trophy lists wiith completion > 0%, please!