There’s been something missing from What We Played of late. Something that used to be a weekly constant. This week it’s back: Tuffcub has been playing Killzone 3. “Everyone seems to have improved during my hiatus and I’m only coming fourth or fifth each round”. Sounds like he’s been getting a refresher course in pwnage.
Mass Effect 3’s Insanity difficulty has been driving Aran insane. “It is unforgiving, at one point leaving me with no ammo, which isn’t great if you’re playing the Soldier class. Instead I had to rely on Liara & Kaiden to clear the way for me until I got to an ammo cache.” Is that the ME3 equivalent of a mother pushing her child’s pram into the road first when she wants to cross? (One for Dave Allen fans there.)
He’s also picked up one of this gen’s early titles, The Darkness, to play before picking up the sequel. “I’m enjoying it, though switching between guns and the Darkness isn’t as smooth as it could be.” Not since Ico has a game made sitting on the sofa with an NPC such an emotional event. It’s a game with some genuine surprises too which makes it more of a shame that our TSA PlayThru play through was never completed.
Peter spent much of his gaming time stealthily shooting his way through the good and bad in Ghost Recon Future Soldier.
[drop]As an aside, have you seen our new magazine-like review format that we’re trialing for big titles? Alex was up first with his Max Payne 3 review and Peter’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier review is the second. What do you think? Like it, love it, Loathe it?It had moments of real brilliance but they were all interspersed with moments where it tried to be a budget version of Modern Warfare. I don’t usually like making that kind of direct comparison but with GRFS they really can’t be avoided, sections of it are almost embarrassingly similar to Activision’s game. When it sticks to what makes it unique, though, it is really good.
After previously telling us that he’d finally ‘got’ Minecraft Peter has gotten a little carried away with it. “I’ve played an unhealthy amount, late into the night.” And why’s that Peter? “I’m building a huge feast hall because I’m an idiot.” Don’t think I’ve ever seen a Minecraft hog-roast so I’m looking forward to seeing some screenshots.
A new highly interactive offline game has been occupying much of Jim’s attention:
This week I’ve been playing a game called A-level revision. The learning curve has been fairly steep, but there’s a great story to be told beneath the monotonous yet enriching design; the varied cast of characters have definitely been fleshed out since the original game, Politics and Government AS. Think I’m approaching level cap, but it’s a bit too early to tell.
The “well-crafted” Max Payne 3 has been getting plenty of attention as well, and he singles out the multi-player as a pleasant surprise. “It feels a lot different from your average third person online shooter, yet has plenty of depth.” It’s not all coming up roses though as “the spawning system is so god damn volatile.”
[drop2]Other notable mentions from Jim go to the “tedious” Operation Raccoon City and the “fantastic handheld port” of Mortal Kombat Vita “ that retains everything I love about its console counterpart.” Make sure you keep an eye out for a Mortal Kombat review soon.As for myself I’ve managed depressingly little gaming this week. I’ve spent a handful of minutes playing MotorStorm RC on my PS Vita making sure I’m ahead of Peter on the leaderboards wherever he’d posted a faster time. Of course Gran Turismo 5 got its weekly run out too.
Treasures of Montezuma Blitz has been getting a few minutes attention most days and this is where I could do with your help. I can regularly get scores around 100k but not much more. What am I missing? Is there some trick to extend the about of time per round beyond the usual minute other than the score-truncating Dark Mode? Any advice on the best totems, etc., to use?
And of course I’d like to hear what you’ve been playing.
Youles
You would? Ok, then….
Back to the Future which saldy isn’t as good as The Walking Dead, but still enjoyable and occassionally amusing. 100% trophies on Sonic 2. A fair bit of Dirt 3 and in particularly the excellent Monte Carlo DLC. Some Peace Walker with McProley (we finally got 20,000 camaraderie and the “Vic Vos” gold trophy). And a few games of Awesomenauts and Infected on MW3 (Double XP this weekend btw).
I plan to try the Hitman Sniper Challenge later as well as the Ridge Racer Unbounded demo.
Not played any Vita for a while although I’m tempted to pick up Everybody’s Golf for £12 which I forgot to do on Wednesday!
bmg_123
I played a couple of matches on “GCSE 2k12”, biology, 2 rounds of English literature and chemistry. My K/D on the questions was pretty good by the feel of things, but then again, I haven’t put enough hours in to make my rank too high.
No other gaming for me this week, but I DID watch ‘Requiem for a dream’ this morning. It was good.
Omac_brother
The sequel, Call of College, is a killer. Make sure you choose the right Class at the start. A Level 3 Mage will be totally ineffective against Business Studies.
bmg_123
I think I’m gonna get the other one ‘Film school-field 3’, just because it’s more my sort of game.
Death_In_Flamez
I’ve actually played Politics and Government AS! Might try the second game next year ;)
LTG Davey
Still sounds more exciting than the upcoming Medal of Honor….
Omac_brother
Skyrim. Still. No Sleep till platinum.
gaffers101
Not just me working on my Skyrim platinum then. This week I’ve been concentrating on the main story quests.
LTG Davey
Mostly Max Payne 3 for me this week. Spent the first half of the week switching between the campaign and multiplayer, both of which are really enjoyable (though there are a few balancing issues with the latter at the moment unfortunately). Taken a bit of a break from the single player at the moment to let my brother catch up so instead I’ve just been racking up more time in the online component, completing grinds and leveling up.
After each session I’ve been winding down with a few rounds of HexicHD or playing some Kinect Sports 2 with the Mrs.
Ghost Recon obviously came out today so I might pick it up this weekend or just hold fire for a few weeks for a price drop.
Taylor Made
Just the vita for me while am still in the states how I miss my ps3 sometimes I turn it on using the vita but I think viegin cut me off lil.
I’m obsessed with mk vita, I think it’s easier on the vita & love the fruit ninja thing rip off, might pick up mdr since its £12
bmg_123
Fruit ninja rip-off?
LTG Davey
Extra “test your” mode in the Vita version of Mortal Kombat I believe.
Taylor Made
Yh I can’t remember the actual name of it but it’s pretty much fruit ninja but mk style with body parts. It’s an extra tower designed specific for the vita it’s really fun
bmg_123
Ah, for some reason I thought you meant a separate app that was like fruit ninja…
Sympozium
Test your slice.
R1MJAW
Not played a great deal this week, Dirt Showdown on PS3, a smattering of Virtua Tennis 4 on Vita, but mainly I’ve become addicted to the Home Run Contest in Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii again.
Youles
Hi mate. Slightly off topic R1M (but I know you have the [fastest] Plat), but does Everybody’s Golf on Vita have any online trophies? :)
element666
hey mate just one.Its participate in a daily challenge.Its a good game gets hard though.
R1MJAW
As element says, just the one. It is a great game though, and has plenty of content to keep you busy … you’re looking at probably 70-80 hours minimum for platinum.
Youles
Thanks guys, that’s cool. I have 100%’ed Escape Plan, Wipeout, Uncharted and MotorStorm RC and need something to give my Vita some purpose until MGS. If it’s only got 1 online trophy and takes lots of hours, I’m happy for it to be a slow burner. And for £12 on PSN seems like a steal!
element666
I finally got my dead island platinum and 100% thanks to McProley for that :)
Been playing BTTF which is pretty good,also picked up Doctor Who which is good but the save points are terrible! I had almost finished a level,got frustrated turned it off went back later only to find myself at the start! half an hour lost.I wish it saved at the checkpoints!
Rant over.lol
Still trying to do the last 2 challenges on force unleashed 2,my controller has almost been through the tv lol
Vita wise its been dungeon hunter,table top tanks which is fun in quick bursts and i downloader MNR as i thought at 12 quid it would be rude not to!
Forrest_01
I bet one of those challenges in TFU2 is the one where you have to jump on the floating platforms. Bloody hard that one.
element666
Sir you are right!
That and the combo one!
Never known anything like it!
Forrest_01
Aha – The very same two i was left with come the end. They are both doable, but practice & timing are key.
Apparently, the combo one is much easier if you do that before you go through the game, as the string is shorter (due to you not having unlocked the moves), but i still managed to do mine after i completed the game, so its definitely possible either way.
I actually found the one that i mentioned the hardest, as you have to cross a lot of dead space to get to each of the platforms & one wrong move & you are a goner! XO
element666
cheers for the hint mate, I just need to shave a couple of seconds off each challenge!
I’m determined to succeed lol
Sympozium
I’ve been playing Littlebigplanet 2 constantly this week been designing a new level that actually has some good platforming elements. Just have a problem with length it might be too short because I have no clue what to add next.
Other games i’ve played have been Mortal Kombat; there I would play the arcade mode all the time,its a time killer. The next game is a really good one and I should’ve bought it when I got my iPod Touch. Worms 2 must be one of the best uses of a traditional console game without buttons to work really well, its a perfect game to me. Controls are lovely.
freezebug2
Played Ricoched HD to near completion, with just one trophy left for 100%.
Played the GT5 Academy 2012 new event challenges and took a few of Manor’s Top Times on the leaderboard :P
Played Sniper Elite V2 to completion apart from returning to collect some smuggled gold bars and some neatly placed Wine bottles to snipe/shoot in all of the levels.
Watchful
What did you think of Ricochet HD? I had a quick go and wasn’t too impressed. Should I give it a second chance?
freezebug2
It’s not too bad, but by the time you are around halfway through the game it seemed to get a little repetitive without enough variation in level design….level 150(the end) was a longish haul.
I never actually learned what some of the power ups did until near the end of the game either, as there were so many of them.
Given a choice though I’d go for Magic Orbz over Ricochet any day. Ricochet HD was free but I wouldn’t want to pay any more than a fiver for it….preferably a little less!