I hope you’re all sitting down as I’ve some surprising news for you. I’ve played something other than Mass Effect 3 this week! A few things actually. I’ve been trying to get into Rock of Ages as its mix of tower defense and Marble Madness should be right up my street, but despite some great humour (“This is Sparta!” being my favourite cut scene so far) it’s just not grabbing me.
I’ve also been playing a radically different type of game (Not! for Wayne’s World fans), Orcs Must Die, and it’s ludicrously good fun. A mix of tower defense and Marble third person hack and slashery it’s just brilliant. I bought it when it was cheap on Steam just prior to the release of the sequel (which I’ve subsequently bought but not yet played) though I’ve only got around to playing it this week. Highly recommended if you’ve yet to try it.
My PS Vita has been laying lazily on the coffee table for a few weeks weighed down by its full 8GB memory card I got at launch. It got set aside as games wanted patching and couldn’t be because the card was full. It’s just been upgraded with a 32GB card now they’re a much more reasonable price than the 16GB cards were at launch so it should be getting some action in the coming weeks.
Jim was feeling very wordy this week so here’s some unexpurgated Mr Hargreaves for you:
[videoyoutube]There’s not been a lot of gaming for Aran this week. The good news is that he’s no longer managing Everton in Football Manager 2012. The bad news is that that’s because he got offered the Chelsea job so is currently frittering away Russian billions on the transfer market. He’s also been continuing to free run his way through Assassin’s Creed: Revelations in preparation of AC3’s imminent release and particularly enjoying how the story switches between Altaïr and Ezio.Still reeling from better-than-expected A level results last week, I’ve found myself stuck in that classic situation we all face every once in a little while. That’s right, the one in which we turn on our gaming consoles whilst staring at our shelves that are almost splintering under the weight of hundreds of games yet we claim “mmm, there’s nothing to play.”
Luckily this phenomenon didn’t last for too long as I managed to bank plenty of time with Minority’s thought-provoking PSN title, Papo & Yo. I was also lucky enough to be invited to a beta event for War of the Roses, a medieval spin on the classic deathmatch competitive multiplayer we all seems to love so much. It’s a pretty decent game, though it’s plagued by weapon imbalances and has a merciless approach to new players. Think of it as Call of Duty meets Mount & Blade. This could mark the start of a new online gaming trend that I’d definitely like to get behind.
Aside from that, I’ve spent a fair bit of time putting together a one-man business venture that will help me tackle the living costs of university. Instead of shambling around another retail joint as a sales assistant I’m buying and selling second hand games. In my first week of “business” I’ve already doubled my money, so my knowledge of medium seems to be paying off. It’s certainly a change from my regular part time job and involves a considerable amount of risk, though it has given me an insight as to how valuable older games are, not to mention the lack of value in a number of games that are barely months old. Fascinating stuff.
A limited variety of gaming also defines Blair’s week:
All I’ve played this week is the wonderful Retro/Grade. It’s available for PSN now and free for PS+ users. Basically, it’s a little bit of Rock Band and a little bit of a sidescrolling shooter, but it plays backwards. Yes, you have to collect the bullets you’ve fired by using a guitar peripheral or pressing X on the controller at the right time. It’s a wonderfully simple mechanic, which works; you can play it either like a (backwards) shooter or a rhythm game, which is brilliant. It’s just really fun!
And that’s it from us this week, lots happening but little in the way of gaming. Are you all still working through your back catalogues in anticipation of the oncoming Autumnal onslaught of new releases?
bmg_123
Finished inFamous 2! Not even a platinum, just the story! Also played a little Sound shapes and MGS:HD on the Vita. Gonna try and Platinum LA Noire in the next few weeks whilst I wait for Borderlands 2 to release.
McProley
Out of curiosity, does anyone know if you can use the DJ Hero turntable for Retro/Grade?
McProley
This week I got my plat for Dead Space 1 which was nice as it was all earned in works time. Started Darksiders 2 which to begin with didn’t impress me as I think the first one is better, but its growing on me a little. I quite like the RPG elements to it. Ive also been plowing through some of the Death Mode levels on Sound Shapes (I honestly have never sworn as much as I did through these) and played some Mutant Blobs Attack on the Vita
Dom El
Having been ill all week has allowed me some gaming time whilst wrapped up in my duvet! I’ve finished Uncharted 2, started Uncharted 3, and from the marvellous Playstationplus I’ve played some Dead Space 2 (scariest game I’ve played in years), Deus Ex, and Chime. Also sneaked in the first hour of Final Fantasy 9 which is great no matter how dated the graphics may look on my HD TV and finally some Rayman Origins on my Vita.
Youles
I love FFIX, it’s the best one since FFVII. I’m not a huge fan of the PS3 FF games so far sadly. I can’t wait for Vita to get PSOne support sorted, as I never finished FFIX.
Dom El
It’s the only one of the whole series that I’ve always wanted to play based on the art style. The others have looked nice in their own way but the world of IX has a charm all it’s own. The fact that I was a Saturn/Dreamcast diehard when the PS1 FF games were coming out has meant I’ve waited a long time to play it too!
Youles
Yeah, it looks incredible and I love having 4 players in the party again. This will be a certain download to Vita as soon as I can!! I had a Saturn but sold it to buy a PS1 with FFVII if I remember correctly.
Youles
Just LittleBig Planet on PS3. Have fun playing it with the wife and various TSA members who all contributed to me gaining the Platinum this week, thanks to all! :D The Meet was a particular highlight with a lot of the time being spent slapping or dragging each other to a fiery death!! I completed the PotC DLC last night so just a few of the MGS DLC trophies to get for 100%!
On Vita I 100%’ed WipEout 2048. The Fury DLC was easier than the HD DLC, and a couple of the new game modes made a nice change. The competitive zone one would have been great in multiplayer! It’s almost a relief to have finished it as it’s a pretty tough game in places.
Also on Vita I purchased Tales from Space: When Mutant Blobs Attack. It’s a great little game with a quirky art style. I’ve only completed the first chapter but am looking forward to putting some more time into it!
McProley
yeah, the LBP meat was awesome (for the short period that i stayed for) The bitch slapping into the fire had me litterally LOLing
Youles
I know, I think you slapped me off one ledge and I fell down the entire length of the screen. Luckily I came through the portal right by you, and dragged you down with me – payback! Same, I was laughing so much. I might create a 4-player versus level on LBP2 for arena style slapping, on a wobbling platform surrounded by fire. The last Sackboy standing is the winner!
McProley
Sounds like a great idea mate!!
R1MJAW
TfS:WMBA is a great little game. It’s slightly easier than the PS3 game, but still has a few challenging levels (especially when trying to get gold medals).
Youles
Yeah it’s cool! Do I get the PS3 version for buying the Vita one, I didn’t even know there was a PS3 version?
I can imagine it gets a lot harder – I spent ages trying to get all the “food” on one level only to realise you can still get Gold without getting EVERY piece of food!
R1MJAW
Unfortunately not, they’re totally different games.
Youles
Thanks for the response mate. Well, on the plus side that’s more Mutant Blobs games!!
element666
LBP was right funny! slaps a plenty :)
JohnnyBoy
Ghost Recon Future Soldier campaign for me this week. It’s been sat on the shelf for a few weeks while I finished Max Payne and because I bought it then read then the TSA review (6/10) which didn’t exactly give it a ringing endorsement.
Now I’m about half way through it and really enjoying it – the actions is great and squad works really well, although cut scenes are terrible.
R1MJAW
Aside from the Showdown meets and the RRU meet last night, this week has been all about 1 game … Darksiders 2, it’s absolutely fantastic. Granted, it has a few minor glitches and a few very nasty major bugs (which thankfully I managed to avoid), but overall I think it’s much better than the 1st game (which I also thought was fantastic).
McProley
I’ve only got to the Tree of Life/Death but so far I’d say the first is better IMO. Btw, can I send you an item for that trophy please?
R1MJAW
Yeah, no problem, I’ll just send it back to you so you can use it or sell it.
McProley
Cheers mate, I’ll send it off tonight. It’ll not be anything of much value, so dont worry about sending it back too much, unless you need the trophy too of course
R1MJAW
Nah, I’ve already got the trophy, but I’ve got plenty of stuff/money, so you may as well have it back.
Forrest_01
What major bugs is it that you managed to avoid? I guess you can’t say without spoilers?
Just wanted to make sure i didn’t hit them if they are indeed avoidable.
R1MJAW
I have posted a huge reply, but my tablet decided to post it as a new message instead of a reply (oddly), so it’s on the 2nd page.
Forrest_01
Lol – Thanks dude. I’ll take a look.
Bloody tablets doing what they feel like…:D
bigbaldwolf
I won Persona 3 from a twitter contenst so I’ve been playing though that on my Vita. I’ve wanted it for a long time but I refuse to pay £20+ for a psp game. Also been playing through FF4 the after years.
On a side note. Really looking forward to Tuesday and PS1 classics. I want to get all the FF games up to 9 on my Vita ( I have 1,2 and 4 atm)
mugsybalone
Picked up a fair bit in the PSN Summer Sale that I’ve been trying to get into, time permitting. Battlefield 3 is fun, but there’s been one or two sudden difficulty spikes causing a few die/spawn/repeat until frustrated that I’ve found myself impaled on, although on the whole I’m enjoying it. Also picked up Dirt Showdown, I was hoping for some fun like I had with Destruction Derby back in the day, unfortunately the game seems to have adopted a handling model that’s like two fat girls wrestling in lard. I also picked up Sleeping Dogs, which is continually surprising me with how good it is. Admittedly other people might have known this having paid attention to the games press, but I ignored it on the assumption it was just like the True Crime games that weren’t very good. Happy to be proven wrong on this one.
LTG Davey
Started and finished Prototype2 in two short sittings – Enjoyed it more than the first but very glad I got it from LoveFilm rather than buying it.
Darksiders2 arrived from Tesco a day early so I got it Monday night and put a couple of hours into it. Since then I’ve racked up around 7 hours in total and having a great time so far. Great voice acting, solid Zelda-esqe dungeons and enjoyable boss fights. Glad I picked it up.
Downloaded CounterStrike on Wednesday for some nostalgia and have been glued to it since. Such an awesome game, with not a kill streak or perk in sight. This is how online play should be done :)
Oh, I checked out the Sleeping Dogs demo last night too. Bit short but the combat feels great. Looking forward to playing this one after a price drop