With the summer holidays kicking off hopefully many of you have found a bit more time this week to sit down and enjoy some game time, whether with friends, family, or for some long solo sessions. Even more fun awaits with August bringing a much-anticipated end to the recent drought we’ve been experiencing.
As you might have guessed, nearly all of us at TSA Towers have been plugging a few hours here and there into Bungie’s upcoming massively multiplayer shooter, Destiny. Well, apart from poor old Blair, that is. Deprived of a solid internet connection for yet another week, he’s had to look elsewhere for his gaming fix, also having to pass up downloadable title, Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty. For him, cutesy Wii U strategy game, Pikmin 3, has been filling the void, though he’s not sure it’s a game that will keep him permanently transfixed.
Helping himself to a second serving of Wolfenstein, Aran seems to be enjoying the game even more, finding a real connection with the game’s robust cast of characters. Of course, he’s also been playing the Destiny beta, which he says has already convinced him to place a pre-order. Currently, he seems intent on chasing bounties and relishes every time it pops up a completion message..
Another writer already convinced by Destiny is Dan J, having played it “a lot”. Instead of confining himself to the game’s PvP deathmatches in the Crucible however, he’s spent the majority of his time exploring the network of zones featured in the beta. Aside from MotoGP 2014, he’s also been playing The Swapper on PlayStation 4 for review, a challenging indie puzzle game with a great sense of atmosphere and a “philosophical twist to the story”.
Tuffcub has also been tinkering around with Destiny too, as well as Wolfenstein (which he finally completed), Killzone: Shadow Fall and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Being the Metal Gear fan that he is, Tuffcub finds the omission of David Hayter a bit jarring, something I expect to find when I get around to grabbing my own copy.
However, game of the week by a mile is Borderlands 2 on Vita, the fact that they squished the entire game on to the Vita is a miracle and I am really enjoying having such a decent game to play on the commute to work. Yes, the frame rate is a bit wobbly sometimes, but apart from that it’s superb and I am getting plenty of envious looks from other commuters who are stuck playing Candy Crush on their phones.
Personally, my time with the Destiny beta was cut short. From what I played, I really enjoyed the game, but my time with the alpha meant that I was mostly retreading the same territory and will no doubt have to do so again when the game launches this September. So, I decided to jump into the Crucible instead only to find that *dun, dun, dun!* my PlayStation Plus subscription had finally dried up.
Of course, I intend to renew my subscription in a couple of weeks or so, but also found that this has given me a golden opportunity to tackle my backlog. First off, I blitzed Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, finally bagging myself that platinum trophy. Without slowing, I immediately swapped to Tomb Raider, though my chances of finding anything other than bronze, silver, and gold is slim due to its abysmal multiplayer. Another gem I decided to revisit (and actually play for many then ten minutes) is Persona 4, and what a game it is!
One thing that really surprised me this week was seeing what my younger sister was playing. Usually flitting between Disney Infinity, Skylanders, and other games targeted at her demographic, she decided to boot up Red Dead Redemption instead. She’s a bit of a horse nut, you see, and not a serial killer in training as the tabloids would have you believe. From what I remembered of the game, it had some tough moments, even as someone well acquainted with the genre. That didn’t stop her from beating it in the space of a week.
Since conducting last week’s play log, I have been waiting to use this pun. After grappling with a particular section of the game, Dan has grown Knack-ered with a certain PlayStation 4 launch title. Though clearly not as enthusiastic about Knack as he was last week, he still maintains that the game is serviceable, stating that it’s just a bit “meh”. He’s also been been playing Destiny, though is less turned-on than most, praising the vistas but finding little else of value.
Finally, we have Dom, rounding out this week with another multi-platform medley:
Well, having had my birthday last week, I got an Xbox One to join the others under the telly family – it’s UI is far too complicated and messy for its own good but so far the games have been good fun – mainly Ryse which is pretty dumb but very pretty and Crimson Dragon which is probably the closest I’ll get to playing a new Panzer Dragoon. I played the tutorial for Titanfall and Killer Instinct but haven’t been back to either which probably means I won’t be playing them again.
Of course I haven’t abandoned my PS4 as the Destiny Beta has been on, and wholly enjoyable too. I just want the game now, and frankly, what can be left for Bungie to do?!
I’ve also had my weekly dose of Monster Hunter 3 on Wii U which is now my favourite handheld console. Shame you can’t play it outdoors mind you…
So, what have you lot being playing this week?
blast71
Managed to get all the driver-san Francisco single-player trophies. Damn! Some of them were right frustrating. Gonna try to clear-up the multi-player next. Also finished the story of infamous city of blood, just a few collectable trophies left.
ron_mcphatty
I’m going for the PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate platinum, so far so good. I’ve also nearly finished Groubd Zeroes, I think I’ll leave the last couple of trophies until just before Phantom Pain rears it’s head. Not sure whether to bother with Puppeteer, I’ve just downloaded it but I’m thinking I’d rather start Gravity Rush or sink back into KZ Mercenary.
TSBonyman
Just play one level of Puppeteer, then decide. It’s worth dawdling at the main menu for a few minutes to hear all the MC’s announcements too.
TSBonyman
Killzone Shadow Fall, there had been a few updates applied since i last played it so i was pleasantly surprised to find i was now able to get past a section where the enemies previously kept respawning – only to then find myself at a frustrating turret gun section. Nailed that after about ten attempts, watched a cutscene and then – another fucking free fall section! Once i completed that i had enough of Killzone for one day.
tried again to beat Resogun Mefitis on Experienced – and failed – but i did manage to triple my previous high score so not a complete loss. :)
I picked up the Mutant Blobs upgrade deal from the Vita version (2.99 for PS3 version + theme + bunch of avatars + soundtrack – pretty sweet deal!) Played the first stack of levels and then turned my attention to the soundtrack, which is by someone called Peter Chapman … wait, what – is that ‘our’ Peter?
JustTaylorNow
Wolfestein, what a brilliant game, fun! Been putting as much hours as I can as I hardly have time to game these day. Hoping to get the platinum before TLOU
bigchrissyc
Playing a lot of Destiny. I did play the Alpha, so the extra missions are a welcomed extension. Not played any PvP though, as that doesn’ interest me in the slightest. Co-op quite literally makes this game, its good on its own, but brilliant with friends.
Also been plugging away at Watchdogs. I couldnt find this game any more underwhelming. I find it has a completely generic cast of characters and re-hashed gameplay elements. I also find it frustrating that you can complete a certain amount of side missions, lile criminal convoy missions, which i have done 17 of the 18, yet the last one has yet to appear. Why Ubisoft! This has happened with pretty much every side mission set ive completed. Ridiculously annoying.
Spence1115
Quite a lot recently!
Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus – Picked it up cheap from Amazon, got the platinum in a day. Good game, not too long, was good.
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time – Completing Into the Nexus made me FINALLY finish this on Hard and get the platinum that I was so close to back in 2010. However, since then I’d lost the save file, so I had to start again. Still finished off Hard mode and the My Blaster Runs Really, Really Hot trophies and got the platinum in another day.
Pokemon Y – Got through the last 2 gyms and the Elite Four in a couple of hours. The whole team levelling makes the game far too easy in some respects, I just breezed through the end without giving a damn and had everyone at levels 80-90 compared to the Elite 4’s 60-70, and destroyed them. Kinda ruined it a bit, but not having to grind was a tempting trade off.
Oddworld: New and Tasty – got this day one, and started it on Easy having been terrible as a child. I was still terrible, but managed to actually complete this in a few days, unlike when I was a kid and could only complete Oddysee through cheating. Holds up very well and it was nice to dust off the PS4…
Batman: Arkham City – I’ve returned to this to try and grab all the Riddler trophies and other collectibles for the main play through. Then, I’ll do New Game Plus, grab the platinum and do all the DLC.
Mario Kart 8 – always got time for some Mario with my girlfriend, and with new flatmate moving in soon there’ll be more time for this as we get to know each other/hate each other for using lightning…
Should be spending a while on Batman now, and finishing up some stuff on Pokemon Y though I’m pretty bored of that now. I’ll swap out Pokemon Y for something on my Vita afterwards, either starting FF X-2 HD, or Sly 2, either one will do for my commute and work lunch time.