Walking Dead - Season 2 - Completed

Took me a while to find the last episode the game kept on saying coming soon for Episode 5 & a search for Walking Dead on the console store could not find the latest episode. In the end I had to use the laptop to use the web storefront and add the latest episode to download.

No spoilers on the ending but I have no idea how Season 3 is going to start with the very different endings you can play out.

I'll most likely will end up jumping platform again, going to the PS4 for Season 3 so not sure how the save file can be moved over? Will probably have to roll the start a few times to get the season 2 ending I want.

I don't think I will be returning to Zelda Wind Waker (possible Shredder) anytime soon with Destiny arriving next week.

Walking Dead Season 2 - Platform Swap

I played the first series on the Xbox 360 but thanks to a recent Playstation store sale I purchased season 2 on the PS3. I did think about my season 1 save on the 360 but what the hell at less than a fiver I could not complain. The first three episodes have already been released so I downloaded these to enjoy over a few evenings last week.

The story continues with Clementine now a little bit older & stronger. I won't spoil the story but just to say that the first episode quickly introduces you to a new group of characters that will accompany Clementine through the challenges the zombie apocalypse throw at her. It is the same great story-telling that Telltale are now becoming masters of producing.

Episode 4 is due for release during July.

Completed - Unfinished Swan

I think the kids enjoyed this game more than me, the girls enjoyed helping me find the various balloons to collect.  They were slightly frightened by the forest levels but luckily I quickly ran through those.

Once I had collected 30 balloons I unlocked the hose which saves your fingers from RSI strain.

The story I think is about Monroe coping with the loss of his Mother but unlike Brothers A Tale of Two Sons it did not tug at me emotionally through the gameplay.

I did however enjoy the Journey Easter Egg in the game, the story unfolding through scattered letters & the gameplay mechanics changing through the various levels.

Looking forward to the of the WiiU where I can see more enjoyment coming from local play with the kids.

Unfinished Swan - Balloon collecting

I gave up on this last year after five minutes of splatting paint, I just could not see the enjoyment.

But Jaimie kept on nagging me to play again & get pass the first stage. So I started again yesterday evening & the girls quickly became interested in helping me find the Balloons you can collect throughout the levels.

You can purchase various toys with the balloons you collect. I've unlocked the balloon tracker & saving up 30 balloons to unlock the hosepipe which helps the flow of paint/water instead of spamming the buttons.

You are Monroe and you are chasing a swan that has escaped from a painting left to you by your departed mother. I have completed upto chapter 6, it's a short game so I expect to complete this evening.

Completed - Brothers A Tale of Two Sons - *SPOILER ALERT*

*SPOILER ALERT*


DO NOT CONTINUE READING FURTHER BECAUSE I WILL DISCUSS SPOILERS ABOUT THE GAME.







PS+ is such a good deal that I am baffled with the games Sony give away. Brothers A Tale of Two Sons was on quite a few Games of the Year 2013 lists so it was on my list to purchase at some point but luckily was given away in March with PS+.

The game starts off with a sad opening showing the brothers mother drowning & the younger brother struggling to save her. Back to the present day, their father falls ill & you have to take him to the village doctor. This sequence introduces you to the unique control method, where you control both characters.
The older brother using the left thumbstick & the younger the right thumbstick. It takes a while to get familiar with the control, I found it easier having the older brother in front & the younger running behind.

The Doctor tasks you with finding a cure for your father's illness & thus begins the game. You will journey through many obstacles, see strange lands & creatures, enjoy the simple puzzles & fun sequences like the gliding plane.

One of these sequences has you saving a damsel in distress & you follow her away from danger in the hope she is leading you to the cure for your father but she transform into a spider and during the boss fight the older brother is wounded.

Upon reaching the tree of life you rest your wounded brother up against a log & rush up to retrieve some healing water. What follows is easily the most emotional sequence I have seen in a video game since Aeris dying in Final Fantasy 7.

You return to find your brother dead, you try to give him the water but nothing happens. A Flashback shows you hugging your older brother before the camera pans down to show the dead body. The game then shows you digging a grave & you have to drag your brothers body to the grave. Then bury it with four piles of earth, you will always remember how many piles of earth because this moment will stick with you forever.

You return to the village with the help of the griffin. Upon reaching the shoreline you realise you can't cross the water. The younger brother has always been scared of the water because of his mother drowning & it was only with the help of his older brother was he able to swim.

I ran around the shoreline thinking there must be another way to get across? The mothers spirit appears to comfort the younger brother, damm this game is tugging at my heart strings !!

I then pressed up on the left analogue stick & the younger brother swam across, using the strength of his older brother memories he made it across & gave the cure to the doctor.

The final sequence shows the father breaking down in tears in front of the tombstones of his wife & son but the younger brother stares into the distance.

Breathe .. what a game !!

So much emotion, I spent ages thinking & reading up about the game afterwards. The older brother dying? The younger brother summoning the courage to swim? The damsel in distress?

Remember Me - Completed

The last few chapters of the game give you a few unexpected story twists which I liked, equally there a few boss fights that will make you really stop & think about what strategy or s-pressen skills to use. The last boss fight proving very difficult with it's three stages took me a few attempts before I figured it out.

Remember Me vs Batman Arkham Origins and most gamers would choose Batman but what Remember Me does well is that it works with no issues at all. No bugs, crashes or corrupted saves. I'm still waiting for WB Games to confirm they have fixed the corrupted save issue before I attempt to play the game again.

With my PS4 pre-order now cancelled (Yes!! I have changed my mind again) I have the next 12 months to start working on my current backlog & look at the games I have missed this generation that I really should play. Next on the list though is a return to Fallout New Vegas & Old World Blues DLC.

Remember Me - Johnny Greenteeth

This game has quite a few boss fights, each requiring a different strategy. Johnny Greenteeth is a tough fight because of all the extra leapers he summons.

The best way to defeat him is to use your S-Pressens skills, first go with Logic Bomb to take out the leapers & then quickly switch to Sensen DOS to stun the remaining leapers if any & Johnny. Then go for Sensen Fury & pummel Johnny.

You will need to use the above strategy a few times before you initiate Johnny's destruct sequence.

I always pause the game by pressing select to modify my combos depending on if I need healing or to recharge my S-Pressens.

New Game - Remember Me

I have now calmed down about the Batman corrupted save (although I am still annoyed) hopefully a fix will be arriving soon for the various issues on the 360 version of the game.

So I needed something else to start & back to PS+

Remember Me & Metal Gear Rising were this months offering & both look interesting enough to play so I started with Remember Me.

You control Nilin who is having her memory wiped by the Memorize corporation, she manages to escape & with the help of her friend Edge your story begins to bring down Memorize.

I love the graphical Deus-Ex style futuristic look of neo-Paris but was surprised when I got into combat to discover it is a brawler type game. This is not a bad thing but the combat could be more refined to offer a Batman Arkham style experience.

I've completed the first two chapters which also involved an enjoyable memory remix section which is similar to the current Batman Arkham Origins detective sequences but more involved. I also love the music in the game with it's electronic touches.

This is one of those rare type of middle tier games like Enslaved that would be released in the hope they would become successful but alas the sales figures come under 250K which I assume is not enough to warrant Capcom investing further. I will however be investing more time to continue playing.

Xcom Enemy Unknown - Completed

The Uber Ethereal is dead & Earth is saved but “MR T” sacrificed himself to let the rest of the squad escape & destroy the Temple Ship. The six KHANS were united for over 50 missions between them, each complimenting each other’s abilities & skills. Shooting, scouting, healing & by using psi-ops to destroy the alien invasion.

Great game & very satisfying when you manage to pull off an ‘overwatch’ strategy to take out a sectopod or a group of muton soldiers. It is tough and many times I would reload a save point to try a different approach. The main story is very brief in that you only three main missions you have to complete to finish the game but you will be given many random missions that give you the time needed to level up your characters & upgrade your facilities.

So another PS+ game chalked up to completion, that makes three now (Uncharted 3 & Specs Ops). £35 for a year’s sub is proving great value for money. I have started downloading this month’s offerings of Metal Gear Rising & Remember Me but they both will have to wait because the Bat will be arriving soon !!

XCom - Overwatch

One of favourite tactics is to put five soldiers into overwatch & use the last soldier to lure out the enemy. When they move BOOM !! five soldiers attack & take them out. It is very satisfying luring the enemy into a trap & having them destroyed in what is essentially the aliens turn in the game.

I have upgraded my main group of six (two support, two assault, sniper and a heavy) to maximum levels unlocking all their abilities whilst also equipping them with titan armour & plasma weapons.

Satellites have now been launched over all the countries & all that remains is to upgrade the interceptor fleets & equip them with plasma cannons. If I had only one wish for this game it would be the chance to increase the squad size to eight this would allow be to have another sniper & heavy in the team.

I have again pre-ordered Batman Arkham Origins hopefully I can complete XCOM before the Dark Knight arrives.

New Game - XCOM I know the enemy

Started this on the 360 last year but it got sidetracked my other games I was more interested in playing. Since then it was added to PS+ so I sold the 360 version. With nothing to play until the pre-orders start arriving it was time to revisit some of the ignored games.

I played a fair bit on the 360 before leaving the game so I went for an American base & quickly started building up the base with a thermo plant & an alien containment unit. I only have five team members at the moment with two assault, a heavy, sniper & support. Focusing on developing the weapons to get the laser guns & trying to save enough cash to launch some satellites into orbit.

Spec Ops The Line - Completed

So the plan was to complete Gears of War Judgement, Thomas was Alone & start Rayman Origins.

Nothing ever goes to plan much like Delta Force's mission to search for survivors in sand destroyed Dubai. Along the way you will be forced to make some tough decisions in the heat of combat. Do you kill you own soldiers? Do you attack civilians?

Spec Ops gives you a harrowing, traumatic & graphical experience of modern combat. More importantly the consequences of your actions are played out for you to see.

It's a very short game that I completed in about six hours, it offers various levels from sniper targeting, tanker shooting & of course sandstorm levels.

Another game from my PS+ subscription following on from Uncharted 3. I tried Infamous but after an hour gameplay I just was not enjoying it so deleted both games (I had Infamous 2 also). Next I think I'll go back to my original plan & finish off Gears of War Judgement.

Completed - The Last of Us - Characters

Characters are what make or break a story. If they are interesting you will enjoy the story they are telling be it by reading a book, watching a movie or playing a game.

I'm not the biggest fan of the uncharted games, I enjoyed the characters & the story had me interested but I just did not enjoy the gameplay. With The Last of Us, Naughty Dog have perfected the package. The characters are excellent & the relationships between them shows a very real depth of realism. Obviously the main characters are Joel & Ellie, seeing their relationship develop over time from a reluctant arrangement to relying & caring for each other.

Their experiences with the other characters they have encountered has only helped bring them closer. Tess, Bill or Henry & Sam. All of these human encounters add another layer to the storyline & one that I very much enjoyed playing.

The gameplay is very much focused on stealth based attacks be this by using the bow/arrow combo or sneaking around to perform a melee kill. I suppose twenty years after a virus outbreak ammo & supplies are going to be a bit scarce. I enjoyed luring the enemies into a trap by placing nail-bombs at corners & enticing the enemies to charge over to me. Getting a group of clickers together & treating them to a molotov cocktail is one of the most satisfying aspects of completing a difficult area.

Yes it is a linear story but when it is presented, voice-acted, played so well there is nothing wrong with linear.

For me this year has already been an amazing year for gaming. Skyrim, Ni No Kuni, Lego City Undercover, Journey, Walking Dead, Forza Horizon & Red Dead Redemption have all been amazing experiences. I have just added another title to that The Last of Us. I'm only just over half way through the year, I still have the PS4 & Watch_Dogs to come yet.

New Game - The Loading (Last) of Us

Thanks to this game I can now fully appreciate the benefits of digital media. If like me you have purchased the retail physical media version make yourself a cup of tea/coffee or in my case nothing because I'm fasting. It is that long that it takes me back to my Acorn Electron days & tape loading.

Anyhow the game, yes it has zombies, infected or whatever you want to call them. Wait !! don't leave just yet !!

Like most gamers I am also sick to death of zombie games although I am disappointed that Nintendo have not delved into the theme, Super Mario Zombie !!

The Last of Us is made by Naughty Dog, the team that made the Uncharted series so if not anything else you can almost guarantee that it is going to have a hollywood-esqe story, voice-acting & a great musical score.

Just by playing the opening sequence you are not disappointed by the work Naughty Dog have put into the game. It provides the backdrop for Joel & shows you the beginning of the outbreak. Then fast forward 20 years & quarantine zones have now been set up. A military style regimented system is in full flow. Controlling the human population & rationing the consumption of resources. Yes this game has also ticked the box by having an anti-government group called the "Fireflies". The leader of the "Fireflies" asks Joel & Tess to deliver a package, the package is "Ellie" a 14 year old girl who is immune to the infection.

Ammo is very scarce in the game so you really need to focus on using your melee skills, ideally by stealth. You can collect resources during the game & craft items like healing kits, shivs & my favourite molotovs. I have left the quarantine zone & ventured outside. This is when you start to encounter the infected, in most zombie games they would not be a problem because you will have stacks of ammo but in this game you need to play slowly & carefully by using stealth to your advantage to either avoid contact or preform a melee takedown.

Similar to Uncharted after you have cleared an area of enemies you are free to wonder around & collect items. I strongly suggest you do this because you can always find healing items, more ammo or materials for crafting hidden away in a locked room or desk drawer.

It has been a promising first few hours of play-time & I'm looking (not) forward to loading up the game again.

Uncharted 3 - Shukran

I have certainly enjoyed the third game in the Uncharted series compared to the previous two, possibly because I know what to expect with the scripted sequences, button press action (although there seems to be less in this game then the previous)

Naughty Dog seemed to have perfected the hollywoodesque (deep storyline with action sequences) style of gaming & it was definitely an enjoyable movie to watch, sorry game to play. Even though you did not have much to do in the destruction of the brass vessel but got to sit back and enjoy a cut scene.

If I go back to the first game I was very frustrated by the style of gameplay but was impressed by the animation, presentation & dialogue of the game which is why I persisted  with the series & Naughty Dog have been refining the experience with every game but I still feel they have a bit more to go to get rid of the cut scenes & give the control of the character fully to the player. It will certainly be interesting to play their next game The Last of Us to see what they have learn in the development process.

For now though it was an enjoyable experience playing the adventures of Nate & Sully. Shukran.

Uncharted 3 - Return of the Drake

Initially I had planned to play the last two Fallout New Vegas dlc's but instead looking at the long list of PS+ titles I've downloaded I opted to play Uncharted 3.

It's Nate & Sully off on another whirlwind adventure. I'm currently up to chapter 8 & have already experienced a bar brawl fight, a trip down memory lane with young Nate, an abandon London Underground lair & visited a ruined chalet in France.

I can't quite put my finger on why but I'm enjoying this game more than the previous two adventures. I don't enjoy button press gaming but I can understand the reasoning behind the process.

Naughty Dog does not disappoint in its cinema style of gaming with some great set pieces so far. My favourite so far the swarm of spiders chasing you on your escape out of the chalet. I'm now off to Syria to find another half to an artifact & also to ensure that Cutter & Chloe are safe.

Journey - Companions

I'm not sure how the list above is ordered but assuming it is in terms of encounters in the game then I would like to thank GT-R_RamblinMan for the help in the last two levels.

It was an amazing game experience & one that I will happily revisit again sometime soon.

Journey - Completed

Whatever I write about this game will not do it justice so I give you a screenshot of my twitter reaction after completing the game.

It was truly a great weekend of gaming completing Lego City & then Journey.

Completed - Ni No Kuni

It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a J-RPG, Ni No Kuni does have it's grinding moments like most J-RPGs but you can overcome these by doing the many sidequests in the game.

I spent a bit of time finishing off all the sidequests & sourcing materials to make better weapons before entering the ivory tower for the final showdown with the white witch.

I won't kid, the last boss fight is very tough & I just about managed it with my level 80 characters, any lower would have been a struggle.

Lovely music mixed with gorgeous visuals made for a truly amazing experience, if I had any gripes it would be that I wish instead of text it was fully voice acted.

Anyhow back to some games that I have neglected for a while X-Com & Borderlands 2.

Ni No Kuni - Shadar

Finally managed to spend a few hours playing Ni No Kuni to continue with the main storyline. I made it to the Marshes, it was easier to just use levitate across the marshes to avoid getting poisoned & then meet Shadar's sidekick Vileheart, not too difficult to beat using my strategy of controlling Oliver to attack or heal the other characters if needed. Making sure to defend against the power moves.

You cut a story sequence after beating Vileheart learning more about Oliver's mother & Oliver falls into a mini coma. When he awakes you are off to fight Vileheart again once more.

Then finally the moment you've been waiting for, the showdown with Shadar.

After making your way through his twisty castle you are treated to some lovely cut scenes & then get to fight Shadar not once or twice but in THREE different forms!!

Makes me glad I spent some time grinding my characters/familiars up to the higher 60 levels thus making these fights easier to manage using Oliver once again in a healing role if needed.

The story of Shadar then concludes nicely and you learn he was not that bad of a bloke after all, just a little messed up.

What follows would easily be ending credits in most games until yes you've guessed it ZOMBIES !!

I kid you not a mysterious gas arrives just in time before you depart to return to Motorville & turns the town residents of Ding Dong Dell all into the undead. Really truly a LOL moment.

Off you go again visiting the three towns of Ding Dong Dell, Al Mamoom & Hamelin to save the infected residents with the help of your mysterious friend Pea.

That was all for today & I assume the white witch is waiting for Oliver & his crew to pay her a visit.

But before I do, I think a bit more grinding & sourcing of materials to create some weapons & armour is needed. It was good to get a few hours this weekend to enjoy the game & finally kick Shadar's BUTT !!