It is somewhat disconcerting to find yourself the only Brit in a German bar while there is one of those football matches on. Still, at least the barman seemed happy that there was a goal just before half time, to lift the spirits of the locals.
For gaming satisfaction this week I’ve had only a spell of wandering/driving my buggy around my increasingly cavernous Star Citizen hanger at the weekend, wondering when I’ll find time to fly all these ships. Then… mmm… shiny!
Sorry, what was I saying?
Oh yeah, I was going to make up a reasonable excuse for buying virtual spaceships with real money. Honestly though, I don’t have one. I have to invoke words like “faith” and “desire” and convince myself it’s sensible because I won’t have the gaming time to earn the in-game currency for them. But mostly it’s just, well, Spaceships!
Most evenings, while on my travels, there’s a fair bit of Plants Vs. Zombies 2 getting played on my Nexus 10 to distract me from thinking too much about dire English defending and hotel rooms that still have woodchip wallpaper on the walls. It’s 2013 people!
Peter has “played a bit of Contrast”, which he reviewed last week. “It’s quite a smart little 2D platform puzzler with 3D bits in between but there were some control frustrations and it wasn’t as polished as I’d have liked.”
He’s also been playing his way through the Call of Duty Ghosts single player campaign:
It is pretty much exactly as you’d expect if you’ve played any of the Call of Duty games of the past few years. I really enjoy the premise though; “the USA has been attacked and occupied – you’re the resistance”. Oh, and there’s a bit near the start where you’re shooting dudes in space. That was good because it reminded me of Star Wars and then I had a whole Han Solo role-play daydream.
And that tells all true Star Wars fans that Peter shot first. Blair meanwhile has finally completed GTA V. Two months after release he’s got to the end of the story and would love to play it some more and try out the online but with University, herding the TSA cats and the imminent release of the PS4 he thinks that unlikely. “So, bye GTA, I had fun.”
Another cause of much fun for him is Super Mario 3D World. “It’s a really great platforming game, and just such a joy to play.” You can read his review elsewhere on TSA but he adds that having gone back to it, “one thing [he’s] noticed is that the controls are absolutely perfect – it’s paced brilliantly and they’re so responsive. It’s a great game.”
Engaged in what could be the activity of desperately trying to poke holes in the screen of his PlayStation Vita, we find Stefan. Of course, what he’s really doing is “playing more and more of the ridiculously lovely Tearaway”. In one of the few short breaks while his Vita’s been recharging its drained battery he’s got together with some of the TSA crowd who are still playing the soon to be superseded Gran Turismo 5.
That’s all from us this week, as changing plans left me only a brief window to gather everyone’s gaming news. Apologies to any of the team whose emails I missed, hopefully they’ll repost them in the comments below for you all to read while you tell us all what you’ve been playing.
Germanos
Finished Resistance 2 today on Difficult to get ready for Resistance 3 which I never played. The game was good, had it’s moments, but what I have seen so far (currently in chapter 5 in Resistance 3) the third part is better. The graphics are beautiful.
tactical20
I’ve only played the first hour or so of Resistance 3, as I found it really boring. Might have to give it another shot if you say it improves.
TSBonyman
Very little played here while i anticipate PS4 but i did finish off the rest of Puppeteer this week – gorgeous, delightful and challenging at times. The singing mermaids were a highlight.
Also tried out the free Ridge Racer Driftopia briefly but didn’t play enough to say whether it’s good or bad.
Forrest_01
Seriously, where did you find Driftopia?? I looked for ages on wednesday & couldn’t see a trace of it!
Searched the store & everyfink & got NO results whatsoever! :(
R1MJAW
It was up very briefly and then pulled again at the request of Namco for an undisclosed reason for an indeterminate amount of time.
TSBonyman
I actually found it on the store before the weekly update was posted so just got lucky i guess. :)
Forrest_01
@TSBonyman – Depends on the quality of the game i suppose!
@R1M – Ah, thanks man, that explains a lot. It had probably been gone for hours by the time i got to looking then! :)
jimmy-google
Finished In to the Nexus this week (which I really enjoyed – just too short) so went back to try a bit more Saints Row the third (not overly fussed by it), finally started Journey (it’s like flower but I have even less of an idea about what I’m meant to do) and have started Lego Marvel on Vita (it’s awful, the worst Lego game I’ve played. It really isn’t like the others and I’ll be glad to get my hands on the PS4 version). Also found some time to go back and play some more Disney Infinity and try out some of the creation tutorials and races challenges in the Cars add-on.
Just 7 days until it all changes, Fifa 14 is due to arrive today. That’s going to be painful while it sits there with nothing to be played on
Youles
Killzone Mercenary, Disney Pixar’s Up (got the easiest platinum ever), Dishonored DLC, but mostly GTA Online with my brother and McProley. Still yet to try the BioShock Infinite DLC or the first episode of The Wolf Among Us, but will try this weekend.
Does anyone fancy helping McProley and I finish all 10 waves of Survivor on GTA Online this evening? Would also be good to have a couple of players to do some rallying too if anyone’s interested?
Youles
And hopefully Tearaway will arrive today! :)
Vallon
Just playing tearaway demo, very cool little game… Think I may have to buy it, only 19.99 on PSN.
tactical20
Very little actually. Stole a jet in GTA5 and parked it in my hanger. Took about 20 attempts, lol!
ron_mcphatty
But I bet all 20 attempts were fun! I was similarly unsuccessful stealing the jet, eventually I crept around the edge of the base and literally walked up to it, then just about smashed it into the hanger before it blew up, saved, quit, and breathed a massive sigh of relief when it was magically spotless on my return!
This week I’ve been busy with Sleeping Dogs. It’s alright, a lot of what’s on offer is better than GTA 4 but after playing so much of 5 it’s a tough ask to rate it highly. The driving feels awful and its such a shame. The combat is fun though, I’ve always been shite at beat em ups but recently getting my head around the idea of combos in Metal Gear Rising and Batman Arkham Asylum I feel like I want to try more! Batman was awesome actually, I finished that on hard on Monday, probably very easy for most of you but a really enjoyable challenge for me. Arkham City next!
Kennykazey
Finished Mass Effect 3 on Wii U, it’s lovely, with some great gamepad functionality. But it does lack some DLC.
Played a bit of Castlestorm on PS3 and Vita (cross-buy but not cross-save unfortunately), both versions are great. On PS3 you get a bit more precision from the sticks which help aiming and the 3D is pretty good, but it feels more at home on a handheld.
TEARAWAY!
And some Super Paper Mario and Galaxy 2 in preparation for 3D World.
R1MJAW
Last weekend was dinosaur filled as I played through and platinumed Wonderbook Walking with Dinosaurs (number 99). It’s probably a tad overpriced at £16, but it was reasonably good (except for the occasionally dodgy voice recognition which was solved by using my Bluetooth headset instead of relying on the microphones in the PSEye).
The rest of the week has been mostly Lego Marvel Superheroes on PS3 (about 65% complete). It is pretty much more of the same, which is no bad thing as I really enjoy the Lego games.
I started playing Tearaway last night and, even although I’ve only played through the first two sections, I’m absolutely loving it.
I also just picked up The Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds but I’ll probably not start playing it until I’ve finished Tearaway.
Stefan L
Tearaway would be a good platinum to get, by the way. Nothing too tricky in there, and such a lovely game, too.
R1MJAW
I’ll probably platinum Lego Marvel first … not because I don’t want to platinum Tearaway, I do, but because I’m relatively close (I’m actually nearer 75% complete) and also I don’t want to rush through Tearaway purely for the sake of another platinum, I want to take my time and savour what Media Molecule have created (which, as I said, I haven’t played much of but am thoroughly enjoying it).
salvodaze
Quite a bit of gaming for me this week.
Let me start with the wonderful Tearaway. Only 25% through the game since I’m trying to 100% each chapter, but what a joy it’s been so far! I’ll probably go for the platinum. Relaxed gameplay and gorgeous visuals… Gameplay and art style remind me a little of Okami. Definitely worth the price and more, although I wish there was some multiplayer or user content integration. Maybe on the next game?
Also finally started to play Fallout: NV seriously. Great game, but we already knew that. I just wish I could get the mods to work without flaw so I could enhance my experience.
Also some Velocity Ultra on the Vita – gem of a game, really. Controls are just great.
Finally, some Picross E on the 3DS. I had played Picross 3D extensively on the DS, so the original (2D) Picross style is new to me, and I still prefer the 3D gameplay. It’s a great little game for 5 pounds though – nothing can really replace my Nintendo handhelds for puzzle games.
I’m still looking for VT4 boosting partners for the final online trophy. And I bought Far Cry: Blood Dragon at the great price point, some 80s fun is in order.