My plans to bring my PS Vita on my European travels this week appeared to have been dealt a blow at the weekend when I tried to upgrade to the latest firmware. The end result of which was a Vita that would only display a backlit blank screen when switched on. “Uh oh”, thought I.
After much fiddling I managed to get it into Safe Mode with the three-finger salute (hold R1+PS+Power until cramp sets in). The success was only momentary though as the menu proved unresponsive so I couldn’t select the device-saving options.
Switching it off before multiple further attempts to get it into Safe Mode just led to many more appearances of the blank screen. By now I was stuck in two minds: does it go out the window or get dropped on the floor and kicked under the sofa?
In desperation I settled for the third option which you’ll be pleased to hear did not involve nuclear weapons and plugged it into my PS3. I have no idea why but that helped. I got straight into Safe Mode, picked the Restore from PS3 option and retired to the kitchen to fetch myself a cuppa while I waited.
As a result it is travelling through Europe with me this week. And what have been playing on it? Just a few curious games of How-Good’s-The-Local-Wi-Fi, the litmus test being can I get a Remote Play connection back to my PS4. The answer is, surprisingly often, though I’m not sure if that says more about the robustness of scattered European Wi-Fi networks or the PS4’s Remote Play.
Fortunately for the content of this article the others having been up to some real gaming this week. Aran’s still playing NBA 2K14 and has played a bit of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 ReMix and Puppeteer but nothing’s really holding his attention. Except for the series Person Of Interest, which he recommends.
If you’ve been paying attention to the site this week you may well have already read Blair’s fevered rantings which resulted from far too much Mario Kart 8 multiplayer at the weekend. Over the course of some 30 hours it single-handedly sapped his gaming reserves so nothing else has got a look in.
For his obsession this week Stefan has become determined to achieve S Rank all the levels in Stealth Inc. on his PS Vita, hitting a few of the games top ten time leaderboards along the way. He’s avoided gaming exclusivity though by also playing “the rather soothing Space Invaders-inspired Titan Attacks!“.
That last also appears on Tuffcub’s list of button-mashing, stick-twiddling distractions this week alongside the ever-present Killzone and with some Stick It To The Man, DC Universe Online and Assassin’s Creed Liberation thrown in for good measure.
Dom is still claiming Final Fantasy XIV to be a “therapeutic pastime” contrasting it with Trials Fusion which he thinks “if given half a chance would turn me into a bearded hermit, long fingernails curled around my DualShock”.
Beyond that it’s a family affair as he’s playing The LEGO Movie with his son and has just started The Last Of Us with his wife. Looking into the future he may be about to double Nintendo’s annual sales of the Wii U by buying one for Mario Kart 8.
People thinking about maybe buying a Wii U must be some kind of positive, much like how I sometimes think about maybe switching mine on before being distracted by something with a Sony badge on it or some dirt under my fingernails that needs removing.
Finally this week we find DanToo FPSing his little heart out.
I’ve been playing Call Of Duty Ghosts, which I’m absolutely loving. After Battlefield 3 and 4 filling my FPS void for the last few iterations it’s refreshing to go back to Call Of Duty. The online I think is as good as Modern Warfare 2’s which I know is a bold statement. The campaign is great so far too; some lovely set pieces, especially the Gravity-esque start!
When not shooting people in the face and carrying around dogs that seem to have suddenly forgotten how to enter the Konami code for invincibility he’s been “pleasantly surprised” by the first few hours of Bound by Flame.
Not so pleasantly surprising were the first few moments of Outlast’s Whistleblower DLC: “It’s horrible, already made me jump quite a few times. I’ll be back soon though. Maybe this time I won’t be decapitated by a crazed patient with a chainsaw.”
He doesn’t note whether that crazed patient looked anything like Blair after a monster Mario Kart multiplayer marathon with a Peter-powered voice-over but that does sound like a frightening encounter that could occur in the nether regions of TSA Towers.
Has gaming helped or hindered your own sanity this week?
Taylor Made
God of war vita! Ah man been on that game non stop at work.
Just got bound of flame whatever it’s called but people are bashing it & I am desperate for RPG so going load that up tonight
Dan Jones
Trust me Bound by Flame is really not that bad.
Taylor Made
Cheers, will give it a go tonight :)
Eldaveo
After countless attempts I think I’ve finally gotten into Titanfall! Found myself playing it most evenings this week and having a great time doing so. The lack of extra modes is certainly noticeable but I’m just glad to finally get some proper mileage out of it given how infrequently I played it during the first couple of months.
Other than that, I played through Stick it to the Man and was disappointed to complete it 100% a few hours later. Certainly a quirky, fun little game but I would have been swearing if I had spent £11.99 on it.
I’ve also found myself watching several videos this week on Twitch, working towards the various achievements on X1. Given reviews don’t really help me these days (I seem to like “rubbish” games for the most part it seems, lol) its great to just sit back and watch someone play a game for a couple of hours before deciding whether to buy a copy.
With a bit of luck my replacement Vita will arrive today (running out of time Parcel Force!) so I’m hoping to play Muramasa and Guacamelee a bit this weekend :)
Nate
I’ve been wrapped in the whimsical embrace of Child of Light, which has a lovingly handcrafted feel to it. I’ve also found it runs like a dream over remote play, and the detailing on the vita screen is even better. Can’t recommend it enough to anyone after a Ni No Kuni-esque grindfree adventure.
R1MJAW
Yet more Trials. After much less attempts than I thought, I managed to finish off all of the extreme tracks. Even more surprisingly, I even managed to get the gold medal for the first extreme track in just a handful of attempts.
More Terraria, although I’ll need to wait for the new patch for the latest update before In can actually get the last 2 trophies I need.
Thanks to Avenger, Freezebug and Crazy Del, I got my 110th platinum with MotoGP 13 on Vita last night.
I also played through Octodad. Fun game, just a bit short. Though I’ll have to replay it for trophy collecting purposes.
freezebug2
Although it was a bumpy ride connection wise with the Moto GP 13 meets, I did quite enjoy the online game when it flowed. Nice going with plat 110 ;)
Pixel_nme
Again congrats on the 110th Plat and I’m now on my way to catching you up ;D
R1MJAW
Just got platinum #111. Pictionary on ps3, it uses that shitty draw tablet … thankfully it only cost me £2.50. Only started playing it last night which is why I never mentioned it in my previous post.
Pixel_nme
(UPDATE) Congratulations on the 111th Plat lol ;)
freezebug2
Lol, I bought that draw tablet thingy while it was around a fiver on amazon, tried it once and it went straight on the meh pile :P
ie. well done on seeing the plat through!
TSBonyman
I’m enjoying Person of Interest too, first season was just okay but it’s picked up from then on.
I played as far as i could get into Titan Attacks, cool little shooter but the only problem for me is that i generally would only play this type of game for maximum thirty minutes at a time but you can’t save, so it means everytime i play it it will be the same levels over and over again.
I picked up Thief new for PS3 as it was significantly cheaper than buying the PS4 version secondhand. I’ve played a few hours so far and i’m getting on well with it except for the map which is decidedly unhelpful, especially if you want to systematically complete the side missions.
And i decided to stop playing Minecraft .. just going to build one more thing .. maybe two .. and of course finish that other thing i was building .. once i have gone on another mining expedition for resources .. and once i’ve first restocked with food supplies and equipment… oh blast maybe i’ll stop playing it tomorrow .. ;)
Stefan L
You can save when quitting the game, actually, and then resume later on. You just need to hit start during open play and select “Save + Quit”. Next time you load up the game, you’ll get the choice to pick up where you left off or start over.
Additionally, during the first 100 levels (20 per each planet), as soon as you beat a planet, you can start from that planet with all of the equipment that you had collected on your best attempt so far. Once you start to loop around, it’s just the save & quit option. :)
Stefan L
And I’ve now 100%’d the main game of Stealth Inc… I don’t really know what to do with myself now… Might go buy the DLC.
hornet1990
Alternated between Ghosts and infamous 2 this week. Have to say though the further I get into infamous the more disappointed I get with Second Son. The amount of elements in common make me wonder just what the Sucker Punch gameplay developers spent the time between the two titles release actually doing!
element666
This week I’ve been playing the stick of truth,which I’m absolutely loving! Also been playing trials fusion,which I am awful at. I picked up amazing spider-man 2 which I’m enjoying despite its bad points :)
endlesscupsoftea
Mainly being playing Spelunky, on Vita and ps3. Trying to get the damn mine key to Tunnel Man. Must be mad as I’m not brilliant at it, but still compelled to try as the game is so addictive!
Kennykazey
My personal highlights include Ocarina of Time 3D, quite impressed by that. Just met the first great fairy. I’ve never played the original further than the fire temple as young Link on an emulator. That wasn’t half as fun.
Link Between Worlds (nearly finished). And I have a tendency to play at least three Zeldas at once. (The third is Wind Waker HD)
Trials Fusion on PS4 (so frustratingly addictive).
Mario Party 3, emulated (quite horribly, I might add) on an original Xbox with broken controllers. It had it’s charms. Will probably play 2 on virtual console tonight.