The weekend is fast approaching, which means it’s time again for a new edition of What We Played, the piece where we tell you what the staff here at TSA have been gaming on for the past several days. So buckle up, hold on to your hat, or grab your security blanket, because gaming tales are coming your way.
Miguel gets us started this week but like so many students this month, finals have kept his free time in check. He did manage to sit down with Style Savvy and Monster Hunter, but his real triumph came in the form of playing guitar on Rock Band with a controller that had a broken strum bar. He didn’t mention whether or not he managed any success in this endeavor, but considering how difficult those games are on expert as it is, I’m guessing not.
Our fearless leader (aka, Blair) also didn’t have a ton of extra time to play games, but he did manage quite a bit of Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, which just launched this week in Europe. As for how he’s enjoyed it, he said, “It’s good, and it looks fantastic, but it’s just not quite as refined or as lengthy as other Nintendo platformers.”
Dan checked in next and first made reference to Brawl, which he just reviewed for the site and gave a very mediocre 5 out of 10. Beyond that, he’s been gearing up for future gaming by picking up a nice spread of new games, including Limbo, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and Project Cars. Dan finished his week with some GTA V, but I’ll let him tell the tale.
I bought GTA V on PS4 (finally), as I’ve really missed playing it, but I’ve only made it past the first heist as I’ve spent most of my time running around the airport stealing planes and generally causing havoc. It definitely feels a lot smoother on the PS4, however, I’m still not keen on the driving. When counter steering doesn’t work around a bend it’s never good.
Next up is Tuffcub, who said he had nothing exciting to report, but his list of games says otherwise. He reviewed Project Root and gave it a 6 out of 10, then played Diablo III and Destiny on PS4, before moving on to Fat Princess and Unfinished Swan on Vita. See? We’ve got top-down shooting action, Guardians trying to keep the galaxy safe, the great Diablo, and best of all, cake! Sounds plenty exciting to me.
It’s been all racing all the time for Stefan, as that’s pretty much where he stayed this week. It started with Driveclub, which led to him scoring the coveted platinum trophy, as well the completion of all DLC trophies. Then he played and wrote about DiRT Rally on PC, before doing the same with Project CARS on PS4. And finally, Destiny. Which I don’t think involves any racing but if it’s possible, he’s surely found a way by now.
Then we have Mark, who has been juggling three jobs so he’s stuck with last week’s theme of games he can easily pick up and put down quickly. He started with Counterspy, which he says is perfect for grabbing and just doing a mission here and there, before playing a bit of Ori and the Blind Forest, which he’s also been enjoying.
Dom closes us out this week with a wide variety of games, starting with this:
Firstly Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Edition on the 3DS which wins silly game name of the week. I’ve also massively got into Final Fantasy Type-0 HD this week, though only after the first couple of hours complaining that I didn’t like it, and that I didn’t know what was going on. There’s very little hand-holding, and a huge number of playable characters in your party, which is all a bit off-putting and then suddenly it clicks!
He’s also continued his conquest of Star Wars games with his son, this time via the Force Unleashed, which he says his boy thinks is amazing. He then somehow managed to make time for One Piece Pirate Warriors on PS3, Monster Hunter 4, Halo Master Chief Collection, Forza Horizon 2, and Lego Lord Of The Rings. He’s practically a machine. In fact, come to think of it, I don’t think anyone else here on the site has ever actually seen Dom, and this story about having a son seems a little too convenient. If movies have taught me anything, that means he’s likely a robot.
That just leaves me. I started with GTA V, heisting up a storm with a few friends, and I also started playing Halo 4 via co-op with a good buddy. After that, I started and completed The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, which I found to be a lovely game, well worth the cheap price I paid during a Steam sale. Finally, I got my hands on Project CARS late in the week and I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen so far. It’s got a few bugs on PC but the experience has been pretty wonderful, with a great variety of vehicles and a lot of tracks.
Let’s see, it seems like we should have a few more people to talk about. Oh that’s right, it’s you! Head to the comments and let us in on what you’ve been up to and what you’ve been enjoying. If not, we’ll fire up robot Dom to come track you down and force you.
Youles
Got my 81st platinum, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare. Probably the easiest CoD platinum to date. Thanks to AddictedAndy who kindly invited me to the Tier 4 map in Exo Survival, I managed to bypass a fair bit of grinding.
I also started on the first Exo Zombies DLC, and have most of the trophies including the Easter Egg one, which I really enjoyed. It wasn’t as complicated or hard as the ones in Black Ops Nazi zombies.
I also bought and 100%’ed the Guacamelee! STCE “Frenemies” DLC. The trophy for completing 2 arenas on Hard (solo) was tough, tested my patience at times.
Played a little bit of GTA heists on PS4 with my brother.
Hoping to play Project CARS this evening!
Pixel_nme
Congratulations on nabbing that plat ;)
Youles
Cheers mate! Very doable.
Let me know if you fancy some zombies sometime, it’s good fun!
Pixel_nme
No worries ;)
Eldaveo
Back on DotA2 this week.
Slowly picking up some of the more advanced mechanics, though I don’t think I’m brave enough to venture outside of BOT games yet ;)
Pixel_nme
Just bits n bobs for me this week,played a bit of Borderlands Monday with R1MJAW and Forrest,a bit of Pure Pool and Zombie Army Trilogy also tried out the Magika 2 sneak peak,tiny bit of Project Cars and tonight should be Dying Light with Berzerka Forrest and R1MJAW.
double-o-dave
My normal dose of DriveClub and HellDivers.
Tried out this months Plus content which ended up being the same old story as most months…
Guacamelee – Another game where I fail to see it’s appeal. Waste of the PS4s power. Deleted.
The Unfinished Swan – Quite intriguing & impressive to begin with. Unfortunately it soon got a bit boring after about half hour. I’ll probably end up deleting that too.
Ether – Lasted 10 minutes before deleting.
I was going to say most of these Plus games seem a step back to me, but that’s an understatement.
Youles
Take it back about Guacamelee!, TAKE IT BACK!!!! :p
It’s certainly not for everyone but if you stick with it, its quite a challenging game and the moves you learn as well as the bosses you defeat get better! There’s also a sort-of-Zelda type thing (at least from the original games) where parts of the map are locked until you have the appropriate skill(s) and then you can reach other places. I can imagine 4-player couch co-op is pretty crazy on-screen – that’s the only real difference with the PS4 version, admittedly, although such local co-op seems to be a dying breed these days.
double-o-dave
Sorry Youles lol.
OK, if it means that much to you I’ll make a compromise. I would’ve probably enjoyed it when I was about 12 ;)
Youles
BLASPHEMY!!
Andrewww
I’m sorry to say, but it was also for me a game which was surprisingly quickly deleted. I’ve not managed to get past the very first chicken, got bored and that was that (which was good, as it reduced my backlog… :o).
double-o-dave
Guacamole can have that effect on your backlog :)
I must admit though, the music was pretty cool.
double-o-dave
GUACAMEPHEMY!
Andrewww
Alien: Isolation Survivor Mode, Lost contact. I sincerely do have a religious experience, when I play this, it is so incredibly intense.
R1MJAW
Dying Light co-op with Forrest, Pixel and berzerka last Friday.
Borderlands co-op with Forrest and Pixel.
More Pure Pool xp grinding.
Tried out the Magicka 2 sneak peek.
Start my new game plus run through Shovel Knight.
Made a start on Project Cars yesterday, seems pretty damn good so far.
Carrot381
I downloaded Rogue Legacy just to see if my PS Plus was working ok due to the PS Now issues. It was and I have become bloody well addicted. If you haven’t tried it yet I heartily recommend it.
Severn2j
Finally received my new 1440p monitor, so PC gaming has been back in front for me and I’ve (re)started playing through Dying Light, The Evil Within, Pillars Of Eternity and Elite:Dangerous, all in glorious 1440p. :)
PS4-wise, I’ve been alternating between having my ass handed to me in Bloodborne and taking out my frustrations on the population of GTA V.
Oh, I also toyed around with The Talos Principle.. Good game, but its no Portal.
Its been a busy week, and I’ve still yet to start Shadow of Mordor on PS4 and Alien:Isolation on PC..
DividSmythe
I’ve got my first platinum of the year and first on Ps Now on Beyond:Two Souls. A very enjoyable game. I’ve also played the usual GTA V and Rayman Legends both on both systems.