Well that’s another working week in the book, with those glorious two days of restfulness mere hours away. Unless of course if you work in the service industry. In which case please disregard the word ‘restfulness’ and replace with ‘soul-crushing labour’. Hopefully, no matter what your work/life balance is, you’ll find some time for a spot of gaming, and we’ve managed at least a little bit in the past seven days.
Dave’s been fighting his way through some tough boss battles in Bravely Second, as well as making a start on XCOM 2 which he’ll be reviewing for us shortly – in the meantime,here’s his early impressions. Meanwhile he’s not been able to get onto the Xbox One as his fiancee Charlie is well and truly hooked on Fallout 4, and the lore of the terminals.
I’m not convinced that the gym is a game, but if classifying it as that helps Tuffcub to level up then who am I to argue? In actual game-y game terms he finished Life Is Strange and apart from a few misgivings about the narrative he still felt that it was a superb game. It’s certainly very different from the gym, as there’s no way you’d rewind that and immediately have another go.
Adam managed to pick up Black Ops III for a bargain price, and has since been mostly sinking his time into the somewhat disappointing single player campaign. Fortunately though he thinks that the multiplayer has some of the best maps seen in any Call Of Duty, so he shouldn’t be feeling too short-changed.
It seems as though Miguel is simply wiling away the hours waiting for games he genuinely wants to play, with Fire Emblem Fates, Street Fighter V and Firewatch all firmly within his sights. Meanwhile he’s been keeping busy with the online modes of Nitroplus Blasterz, and getting back into the phenomenal Monster Hunter 4, so it’s not all bad.
Aran is preparing for a month-long trip, and hence hasn’t found too much time for gaming, though he’s still managed to squeeze in the review for Amazing Discoveries In Outer Space which should be with us next week. It sounds as though there’ll be plenty of time on the flights for a spot of PS Vita, and maybe he’ll get to add to 2016’s completion tally!
Our illustrious leader Tef entered the apocalyptic world of The Division beta, where he managed to put in a lot of time before they shut the servers back down this past Tuesday, though undoubtedly after arguably finding the best beanie hat. He also made videos for The Division and Unravel, and it’s here that most of time seems to be going at the moment, though that didn’t stop him also pumping out articles on Not A Hero and Gravity Rush Remastered as they hit PS4.
Perhaps this week will let him finish up with Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo, XCOM 2 and put some more time into the “lovely” new Zombie map from Black Ops 3, but with yet more deadlines looming he’s not totally sure. At least it’s not a boring life…
Kris popped in to let us know he’s been playing Lifeline on iOS, as well as the very enjoyable Hacknet, which is apparently a bit like Uplink, “but more realistic and story focussed”. Which is nice.
Meanwhile, Jim – like Tef – has been busying himself with The Division and Unravel. Having enjoyed his initial foray into the plagued streets of Manhattan, he was quick to wipe the beta from his PlayStation 4 as not to spoil himself before the game’s launch next month. In doing so, he’s been able to put several hours into the gorgeous Unravel which he likens both Flower and Journey. Although there’s been no more Witcher this week, he’s been dipping back into The Witness, while also taking part in a FIFA 16 house league which he is somehow winning!
As for me, I’ve been playing and watching all things Naruto, beginning the anime again, as well as playing Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 followed by reviewing Ultimate Ninja Storm 4! It’s a fantastic series, and the Ninja Storm games go to great lengths to capture the look and feel of it. If you’ve never tried it I heartily recommend you check it out!
Along with Naruto I also played the opening portion of Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, and you can check out my early thoughts here. The remainder of my gaming time has been split between working towards the close of Rise Of The Tomb Raider, enjoying The Division beta, and spending a few more moments with Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon before my review appears next week!
But enough about us – what have you been playing?
Carrot381
I’ve also been playing The Gym this week and have managed to grab the ‘age has kept up on you’ and ‘ha ha, you threw up!’ trophies.
Gaming wise I’m about 15hrs into Tales of Zestiria and slowly beginning to both understand and enjoy it.
Also a bit of Fifa 16 – Being crap at it I just can’t get to score a goal though.
Carrot381
*crept
Tuffcub
I haven;t got them yet. I did get the “OW! I have muscles THERE?!?!?” trophy though.
Carrot381
Well good luck achieving whatever goals you’ve set yourself :)
Pixel_nme
After a weekend of double xp Black ops 3 it was the usual Monday night Borderlands Pre Sequel with Forrest an R1MJAW,a bit of Not A Hero and Wednesday night was Destiny with Toutski and Forrest,finnished up the final requirements and picked up the Platinum for Dying Light Thursday night and tonight will more than likely be more Borderlands.
Youles
Nice work on the Dying Light platinum mate!
Pixel_nme
Cheers ;)
Avenger
Played The Division beta a little too much, putting 16 hours into it (and tempted to put another 8 into it). Looks to be a brilliant game, and this could be my first day one purchase in a long time.
Elsewhere I played Forza 6 quite a bit, taking a Rolls Royce around Brands Hatch to get in the top 400 of the leaderboards in an effort to get a vintage Aston Martin in this months competition. Loaded up Sunset Overdrive which is a riot to play, and dabbled in some Project Cars (still don’t know what to make of it).
Also did some Borderlands 2 with blast71 over the weekend, where I showed him who’s boss in duel mode :P Gonna try out Unravel later on, then maybe a bit of Persona 4 Arena.
blast71
I was taking it easy on you in the duels. Didn’t want to hurt your feelings ;)
Youles
Played loads of The Division beta and loved it, best thing I’ve played in ages!
Got the platinum (#97) for Driveclub Bikes and played some Driveclub.
Reached level 55 on Black Ops 3 using last weekends Double XP event, getting the last multiplayer trophy I needed (thankfully, as I hate the multiplayer). However I did try the new maps with Teflon (one was rather good), before McProley joined us for some Zombies – the new map is incredible!!! Can’t wait to y the Easter Egg!
I played a small amount of GTAV and unlocked Bigfoot in Director Mode – although oddly you had to use a weather cheat to get it!
Also re-visited Need for Speed following the new update and picked up a couple of the trophies.
Played Among the Sleep, quite a creepy game, interesting to see what happens there.
Played a few FIFA 16 matches with my mate – Prem teams, randomised, you can get one “re-spin” if you don’t like the team, but you can’t be teams we’ve already played. Usually we have some good games that way – Swansea 2, Southampton 2 was good – I finally won on penalties!
Going to FINALLY start Life Is Strange tonight!
Pixel_nme
Shame your not keen on the multiplayer of blops 3,i think it’s the best CoD this generation atleast,Ghosts was fairly traditional style normal human beings using there legs the old fashioned way but player numbers seemed to drop rapidly,AW was fun at first but then got sick of people flying abouy like wasps,i would like a more traditional entry next though like 4 or MW2/3 or older setting like Black Ops 1 or World at War,haven’t played much of Zombies preferred the WaW maps myself although what i’ve played of it (and the little way in i’ve managed to get through the level) i do prefer the new blops 3 zombie map over the one that shipped with the game.
Youles
I’d like to see a current day CoD (multiplayer) – sadly Ghosts suffered as it was also developed on last gen so it wasn’t great, and we’ve since had 2 set in the future. I don’t like the jumping about (CoD was never an Arena shooter with spacemen!) or ridiculous outfits people can have. I remember when getting a simple UAV in CoD4 was a game-changer, it was played at a slower pace and was far more tactical. The zombies maps is like some of the older ones, I guess because – in order of the story – it’s technically one of the earliest, the 3rd or 4th I think after Origins!
Pixel_nme
Yeah i prefer the less jumpy format of CoD,i think they wanted a change to freshen it up a bit and went from one extreme to another,as i say i hope it goes backwards next release but i have been enjoying blops 3.
Pixel_nme
Also saying this i really enjoyed my time with Titanfall when i also had Xbox One,probably why i find blops 3 fairly enjoyable as the movement is fairly similar.
Lyts1985
I have to agree. I didn’t enjoy futuristic COD (multiplayer) in the slightest, all the bouncing about just pissed me off, it didn’t feel like Call of Duty anymore, so I’ve given Black Ops 3 a miss altogether and probably won’t buy another Call of Duty if it continues with the current setting.
COD was at its peak in the MW days. I put so much time in to 4 and MW2 online, I can still remember the maps like the back of my hand :-)
A return to modern day or very recent past would be very welcome!
ron_mcphatty
In between feeding babies I’ve been playing Volume. I’ve also bought myself Transformers Devastation for next weekend when I’ll be on my own with my PS4. Also been playing Real Racing 3 and Peggle Blast, both great fun but I bloody hate Free To Play, just charge me a few quid and stop faffing around EA!
hornet1990
Quite a bit of The Division beta with Youles and RudeAwakening which I throughly enjoyed and am looking forward to the full thing.
Picked up Black Ops 3 for £20 but didn’t get to play it for 2 nights – first night I gave up waiting for it to download a nearly 10GB patch. Next night I started it up, only to have to then wait another 45 minutes for it to install all the multiplayer (which I couldn’t access because online was down) followed by the campaign… I mean seriously, how the hell can a game take 45 mins at first launch to get to a playable state this gen?! Sony should have made the Killzone 4 user experience mandatory for gaining approval.
So third evening I finally got to play it… TBH I can’t see what the fuss is about really – it’s yet another futuristic COD with tiny symmetrical maps and the associated COD crapness. Still, my fault for getting talked into buying it – I should know better by now!
Eldave0
Played The Division beta over the weekend but didn’t really enjoy it – combat was far too flat for my tastes.
Other than that I started a new Bloodborne character, mopped up some Hotline Miami trophies (just the All A+ trophy to go!) and started a Nightmare playthrough of Outlast in preparation for the Insane trophy :-/
Back on Destiny tonight as a couple of mates have bought copies this week :)
The Lone Steven
Still XCOM! Finally discovered that i can build satalites without needing uplinks. Only took me, probably 80-100 hours to figure that out. I am winning at most battles, had to retreat on wednesday when i encountered my first Sectopod. They are easily the strongest foe in the game and because of it, i lost almost everyone. Sure, i killed it but one person against 3 sectoid commanders? No. My current plan is to have 2 MECS in total, one for offence, one for support. Ranking up the heavies and snipers. They are deadly and Zhang is easily my best man. My sniper from the very start of the game is deadly and rarely misses. Support, i try to mold into medics but the random training makes it interesting. I use one hover shiv for luring. I should really use the mimic beacon. It is rather amusing and facepalming when one alien enters the overwatch of the entire squad and everyone misses.
I am proabbly nearing the end of the game, just at the point where i need to build an uplink and having to demolish some power generators. I am starting to get to the point where my passion for it is waning but i shall conquer it! Unlike the other games i’ve started a playthrough on in 2016, i shall complete XCOM! EVEN IF I HAVE TO SLEEP WITH THE GAME TO DO SO!
TSBonyman
Confucious Say: He who sleep with game wake up with sticky disk!
The Lone Steven
Stevefucious say: If game is XCOM, it is He who will wake up being sticky.
R1MJAW
The usual Borderlands co-op with Forrest and Pixel.
Still plodding through Rayman daily/weekly challenges.
A few Guitar Hero live sessions.
Some Diablo 3, currently experimenting with a new wizard build.
Made a start on Transformers Devastation.
The main focus of the last few days though has been Amazing Discoveries In Outer Space. Quite enjoyable, frustratingly difficult at times yet strangely addictive.
Can’t wait for next week, really looking forward to Unravel and The Following dlc for Dying Light. I was also looking forward to Firewatch but I think I’ll hold off for a bit as I have too many other games to play at the moment.
MOVE
Anyone of you TSA-lords who have finished Unravel, and if so, how long is it?
Crazy_Del
Played 2 Telltale Games (The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands) got both Platinum and absolutely loved them especially Borderlands. Still to play is Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead but will give them a rest and jump on Gears of War Multiplayer tonight. Tomorrow night is Borderlands The Handsome Collection with B_Cambo for at least 2 weeks as we both took our holiday off work. So looking forward to Co op gaming sesh xD