I have run out of characters in my original post. First post is now a
list, this post is games 1-25,
next post will be 26-?.
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Games 1 - 25
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JANUARY COMPLETIONS:
Game #1: Pro-Evolution Soccer 2014 - Konami
Format: PS3
Completion State: All game and training modes complete, 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 1/Jan/2015 (mostly completed in 2014)
I haven't played a football game since a FIFA iteration back on the N64 so when this came to PS+ I was keen to try it and ended up largely enjoying my time with it.
It was an initial annoyance having to load data files into the game in order to ensure team and player names were correct but once this was done the game-play itself was OK. All the standard league and cup formats were present, the players controlled pretty well (I had some frustrations around using the more advanced trick techniques but that is probably more my poor co-ordination rather than a failing of the game) and the opposition AI was relatively smart at higher difficulty levels.
The only thing I'd be keen to see added were more stadium variety and slightly more advanced management tools but broadly I think the game strikes the right balance to allow both casual and advanced football fans to play.
Game #2: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin - IO Interactive / Eidos Interactive
Format: PS3
Completion State: All levels complete at professional difficulty with a silent assassin rating, all weapons collected, 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 10/Jan/2015
It's a bloody good game still, what more is there to be said?
The visuals are obviously pretty basic but the core hitman gameplay mechanics have aged pretty well. One or two of the button mappings are questionable (a sloppy trigger to run.. really?) but there is nothing here that truly detracts from the game. Level design is great (though perhaps a little sparse compared to more modern games) and, like a Hitman game should, allows for many many ways to complete a mission.
Game #3: Game Dev Story - Kairosoft
Format: Android
Completion State: Completed the main 20 year period of the game three times ending with a significant ($200+ million) cash reserve in two out of three play throughs.
Completion Date: 17/Jan/2015
A fun but ultimately unrewarding mobile game, after a couple of play throughs you have really seen it all. Pretty standard Kairosoft stuff, enjoyable enough for what it is. It could really be improved significantly in terms of replayability with some fairly minor functionality and stat tracking additions that really wouldn't confuse the user or dilute the core proposition.
Game #4: Hitman: Contracts - IO Interactive
Format: PS3
Completion State: All levels complete at professional difficulty with a silent assassin rating, all weapons collected, 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 18/Jan/2015
Another classic Hitman game. Visually a significant step forward from Hitman 2 and the complexity of the level designs is the same. More great missions and a whole heap of ways to complete them, what more can you ask for from a Hitman game?
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FEBRUARY COMPLETIONS:
Game #5 Alien: Isolation - The Creative Assembly/Sega
Format: X360
Completion State: Completed the story on Normal as a bit of a group play through with some friends.
Completion Date: 05/Feb/2015
We have been getting together every couple of weeks to play through this pass the controller style. It's been a really good way of playing. With the lights down low and the sound up high it has a lot of great tension.
The story is pretty good as well, I get the impression that some people think it went on for too long but I think (and the people I played with seem to agree) that it was just about perfect with enough going on throughout to keep it interesting whilst still sticking very much to the flavour of the film upon which it is based. The actual finale is a little disappointing mechanically but overall the whole thing is very slickly done.
I am going to call this completed but I suspect I will go back and buy it to replay alone on PS4.
Game #6: Hitman: Blood Money - IO Interactive
Format: PS3
Completion State: All missions plus Requiem completed on Pro with Silent Assassin ratings where relevant. Extra trophies collected for platinum.
Completion Date: 07/Feb/2015
Such a great game still.
The additional weapon upgrades and mission requirements are great and add a lot to the Hitman series without taking away the purity of the previous games. Some of the disguises are a little OP compared to previous games but there is still a great challenge to be found in identifying and perfecting a perfect route through each mission for the SA rating. I also really like the newspaper articles after completing a level. They add a lot despite being so simple. The story, like all Hitman games, is a thin excuse for the locales used but I have to admit, I am still a little pissed at Diana...
Game #7: 80 Days - Inkle
Format: Android
Completion State: Many journeys complete, some successfully, others not so. Most/all cities explored/visited.
Completion Date: 23/Feb/2015
Thanks to StingX2 who mentioned this
earlier in the thread, I really enjoyed this fun and frivolous interactive fiction. Phileas surely is an enigmatic man.
There are a few issues with the UI being a little obtuse and fiddly on a small touch screen device at times but overall this is a fun mobile game with plenty of replayability, at least until you have visited each city once and have a general flavour of the routes and map .
My only issue with it beyond the UI is that it's not really a game that is best enjoyed in very short bursts but that's more a comment on how I view mobile gaming rather than the game itself.
On mobile devices I tend to play stuff that lets me dip in for five minutes or so but 80 days needs more than that to really feel involved in the journey. It is, very appropriately, best for playing on a flight or a long train trip rather than whilst waiting for the bus.
Game #8: Hitman: Absolution - IO Interactive/Square Enix
Format: PS3
Completion State: Completed on expert and 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 25/Feb/2015
Let's get this out of the way right at the start, Hitman: Absolution is not a Hitman game in the same vein as those that prelude it, that does not however make it an inherently bad game.
In fact, if it weren't branded as a Hitman game it would be easy to consider it a really rather good game. It looks nice, the controls are great and where the levels open up it really is great. It IS annoying though that you are more often stuck on a far more linear path than you would usually expect when playing as Agent 47. To be fair though, even these linear section allow for a variety of styles of play and the slightly odd instinct system isn't as brolen as is often cited. Even though you can't get a silent assasin rating for every level, in almost all cases you CAN get through them all without killing any non target NPC.
Contracts mode is an interesting and enjoyable addition as well and I hope, whilst drawing more from Blood Money for the single player, the next iteration also strives to extend the depth of Contracts mode for both creators and players.
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MARCH COMPLETIONS:
Game #9: Infamous First Light - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony
Format: PS4
Completion State: Story and side missions complete. A bit of the survival/rescure arena mode played.
Completion Date: 07/Mar/2015
A fun little game. I have never played much of an infamous game as though I have always enjoyed the controls and traversal mechanisms, the world has just never grabbed me. The same is broadly true here. Fetch is enjoyable to play, the neon powers and traversal are great, the story is OK for what it is, the side activities are fun...but the city is just a little dull. Perhaps this is better with the larger area availabe in the main game but I have not tried it to tell.
The arena modes are also surprisingly fun for me. Survival/horde type modes tend to be pretty hit and miss for me but here in this game it is definitely more hit than it is miss. That said, I'd enjoy it more with a co-op buddy as after a few times solo it can quickly begin to feel repetitive.
Game #10: Driveclub - Evolution Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: All non-DLC tours completed 100%, platinum trophy.
Completion Date: 21/Mar/2015
My experiences with the game have been so varying it's really difficult for me to even conclusively say whether I actually like or dislike the game overall. To summarise why I feel either way in a single paragraph fairly is pretty much impossible. The best I can get to is that whilst the highs in Driveclub are superb there are just too many under-cooked elements that detract or distract from those high points and those elements make playing the game at any length a remarkably frustrating experience. Hopefully this is a solid foundation for a sequel.
For a fuller post on this please see:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=157274806&postcount=13032
Game #11: Thomas Was Alone - Mike Bithell / Curve Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Story mode completed twice (previously collected all trophies on PS3)
Completion Date: 26/Mar/2015
Technically this is a replay as I have already completed the PS3 version but I finished the PS4 version recently and really enjoyed it again, so I am adding it despite the trophies between all PS* versions being shared.
It's a short and relatively simple little romp with little graphical flair but the charm, personality and concept more than make up for it. The story though ultimately nonsensical is fun and gives a remarkable amount of personality to your characters despite them being nothing more than differently shaped and coloured rectangles. I bonded with Thomas and his little crew of disparate companions mostly I think because of the dulcet tones of Danny Wallace and the charm of the writing.
The levels and physics are all very simple but this doesn't detract from what is ultimately a very mellow and enjoyable experience.
It's also worth doing a second play through with the developers comments as it includes some interesting comments on the game and, well, they just seem like really nice folk.
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APRIL COMPLETIONS:
Game #12: The Room - Fireproof Games
Format: Android
Completion State: All four chapters + the Epilogue completed
Completion Date: 20/Apr/2015
Really good puzzle game making proper use of the touch screen devices it is made for. There are one or two control issues (mostly with zooming out) but these are rarely intrusive.
The game really suits the mobile format as well. you can drop in and out at will as long as you haven't left it so long you can't remember what you did last and your progress is always saved.
All in all well worth a play through if you like this kind of tactile, observation puzzle game and I'm looking forward to trying the sequel at some point in the future.
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MAY COMPLETIONS:
Game #13: Demon's Souls - FROM Software
Format: PS3
Completion State: All mandatory and optional Demons beaten, all black and white world and character tendency events completed, good and bad endings seen. 97% trophy completion - I'm not grinding for Bladestone.
Completion Date: 22/May/2015
Great game. I'd heard a lot of good things about this game but no real details so I went in relatively blind and now I simply regret not playing it earlier! Moment to moment gameplay, level design, perfectly weighted challenge, impressive atmosphere, pretty much all of it was perfectly done. My only real criticisms are the somewhat obfuscated stats and the huge frame rate issues when smashing environmental objects but beyond that all other complaints would be nit-picking (don't get me started on Bladestone).
Game #14: Never Alone / Kisima Inŋitchuŋa - Upper One Games
Format: PS4
Completion State: 100% trophy completion
Completion Date: 23/May/2015
Very average gameplay and level design perked up by an interesting backstory and some good little snippets into Iñupiaq life. It's never going to stand out on the strengths of the platforming and mechanics but it is well worth a playthrough just for the subject matter. Given the inclusion of the cultural insights it would have been nie if these were a little longer, too many were finished just as they were getting started.
Game #15: Game Dev Tycoon - Greenheart Games
Format: Steam
Completion State: Played through several complete cycles, 55% steam achievements
Completion Date: 31/May/2015
For a first game, simply outstanding. It has a few problems and could do with being deeper but for what it does it does it pretty well. No complaints from me. Well done Greenheart games.
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JUNE COMPLETIONS:
Game #16: Grand Theft Auto V - R* North/R*
Format: PS4
Completion State: All 100% requirements + a few others complete, platinum trophy.
Completion Date: 14/June/2015
Second time through (PS3 platinum as well) and still just as good. Yes, the story, characters and pace are far from perfect, it's humour is fairly base and the gun-play isn't as good as Max Payne 3 but the scale, scope and setting are un-matched.
I could drive around SA online or offline all day long and not get bored. Great game. Really great game.
Game #17: Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition - Housemarque/Climax Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Completed on Normal (Mediocrity...bah!), 32% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 20/June/2015
I enjoyed this more than I expected to. This isn't my usual kind of game but broadly I found normal to be challenging enough without being frustrating except in one area where I had to retry one too many times (the end of Graveyard). Whilst not being graphically advanced the overall style is nice and everything is very cohesive and appropriately dark. The story was presented well and and I quite enjoyed the downbeat female protag VA. I'll probably go back and play some of the endless mode at some point as well as this seems to be set out a little differently to the normal horde modes in the way you choose different routes and have to balance etting weapons and supplies wih getting the credits to upgrade them to be worthwhile. Overall, a good fun top down shooter, simple but interesting.
Game #18: Pure Pool - VooFoo Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Amateur 8 ball championship completed. A few online games played. A lot of local co-op played. 41% trophy completion.
Completion Date: n/a, put down rather than completed and I will iikely continue to play local games now and then.
A fun local pool game. Single player is pretty challenging but I love playing this as a slow paced local versus game. Online is OK and there's some really good players but there is nothing to stop someone from playing really slowly!
I'm not competent enough at real pool to know if the spin and the like is accurate but for a novice it seemed pretty good. All in all a pretty decent, if basic, pool game.
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JULY COMPLETIONS:
Game #19: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - Kojima Productions/Konami
Format: PS4
Completion State: All missions, side ops and extra ops completed with an S rank, 100% trophy completion;
Completion Date: 10/July/2015
I've never really played a Metal Gear game before but I really enjoyed this and am now tentatively looking forward to trying MGSV:TPP though I'm not sure how representative the prologue is of the main game.
The level is well designed and laid out with plenty of routes in, out and through, just like a good stealth/infiltration mission should. This combined with beautifully fluid character movement makes exploring and experimenting a joy.
Game #20: SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition - Maxis/Electronic Arts
Format: Steam
Completion State: Built several cities, both legit and using cheat codes.
Completion Date: n/a, put down rather than completed and I will likely continue to play now and then.
Still a fantastic city building game, a little dated graphically but it takes nothing from the experience. I still prefer just building the city of my dreams (riskymoney) rather than playing the game itself so the split maps of the Deluxe Edition are a bit annoying but I still had fun and could just about achieve what I wanted to.
Game #21: Thomas Was Alone - Benjamin's Flight - Mike Bithell / Curve Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Both DLC levels completed (no new trophies), about one hour of playtime
Completion Date: 26/Jul/2015
Thomas crossed with Flappy Bird. A little slim in content and very slim on challenge but for 79p I'm not going to complain.
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AUGUST COMPLETIONS:
Game #22: Rocket League - Psyonix
Format: PS4
Completion State: Played a bunch of offline and online games, all trophies bar 500km one got.
Completion Date: Last item related trophy received 4/Aug/2015 (will update if I get the 500km one)
Enjoyable multiplayer fun on and offline. Simple to play, hard to master. No frills just good old fashioned fun.
I can totally see why it is has become such a left field hit and I enjoy it a lot when I'm in the right mood but it hasn't captivated me quite like it has many, a couple of games always makes me laugh but that is all I can manage before I want to play something else. That said I definitely see me continuing to play with friends now and then.
Game #23: flOw - Thatgamecompany / SuperVillain Studio
Format: PS4
Completion State: Campaign complete with all available creatures (68% trophy completion)
Completion Date: 6/Aug/2015
Fun enough for what it is, short and simple but fairly enjoyable.
Game #24: The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow / SCE Santa Monica
Format: PS4
Completion State: Story complete, all balloons collected (61% trophy completion).
Completion Date: 6/Aug/2015
Interesting but not always fun experience. I like some elements and generally think it's a very thoughtful game with some interesting parts but they just don't quite come together. I have a few problems with the pace and as someone with colour perception and some sight difficulties at times it is not an comfortable game to play.
There are also one of two changes to the availability of the additional toys from the previous gen versions that I think make it less fun (having to finish the game to get the balloon radar/having to get all of the balloons to get two of the other toys).
Yeah, interesting.
Game #25: Monopoly - Electronic Arts
Format: Android
Completion State: Played some local multiplayer on long train rides and a lot of single player in my lunch breaks.
Completion Date: N/A - Put down rather than "completed"
Classic multiplayer gaming.
Clean and clear presentation, a little slow to load but generally a pretty faithful recreation of the board game. The inclusion of tabletop mode is great for dull train and plane rides when you're with some board game enjoying friends/colleagues. I think I will continue to play this on and off when an appropriate moment arises (planes / trains mostly) but will note it down as complete as I have had way more than 10 hours out of it on a variety of trips over the summer.