Tag Archives: PS4

Just Cause 3 game play walkthrough

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Watch the latest Just Cause 3 game play trailer from E3 and you’ll see exploding bridges, exploding petrol stations, wing suits, main hero Rico Rodriguez driving through sunflower and lavender fields, a parachute that goes back into its backpack when you’ve used it, a fighter plane being used to blow up a refinery, a grapple hook, a statue that pulls itself to bits thanks to Rodriguez’s tether system.

There’s so much carnage that my eyeballs hurt just watching it. It’s an assault on the eyeballs, that’s what it is.

Just Cause 3 is out on “high-end” PCs, PS4 and Xbox One on December 1. I guess a high-end PC means my Geforce 660Ti isn’t good enough? Console it is, then.

 

 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt hype blast

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2D Boxshot Wizard v1.1

I’m excited about CD Projekt Red’s The WItcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Hell, I’m so looking forward to it that I’ve pre-ordered the PS4 Collector’s edition that has a 2kg, 10-inch polystone sculpture of hero Geralt of Rivea slaying a Griffen, one of the many beasts from the game. It’s the first collector’s edition of a game I’ve ever bought since I started gaming 300 years ago. I’ve no idea where I’m going to put the sculpture, though: I doubt my wife will let me put it on the coffee table in the lounge.

In anticipation of the game’s release, BandaiNamco Games have released a couple of new trailers which will no doubt send the hype level through the roof.

Watch them and tell me the game doesn’t look wonderful. Go on.

This first one has CD Projekt Red people talking about the game world:

While this one is a game play trailer, which features werewolves and a ghostly voice: 

Oddword: New ‘n Tasty – the game that confirms my hand/eye co-ordination is waning

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My failing hand/eye co-ordination is ruining my enjoyment of Oddworld: New ‘n Tasty.

Seriously, it is. And that’s annoying the hell out of me.

I might be in my mid-40s but come on, I thought I had a few years left in me before my hand/eye co-ordination started heading south, but it seems Oddworld: New ‘n Tasty has other ideas.

Oddworld New 'n Tasty: Abe with a creature called an Elum.

Oddworld New ‘n Tasty: Abe with a creature called an Elum.

A remake of the classic Oddworld game from 1997 featuring a bug-eyed hero called Abe who must escape the dastardly plan hatched by his employer Rupture Farms, New ‘n Tasty is a platformer pure and simple – a game where you’ll often have to jump Abe from platform to platform, often hitting the X button on the PlayStation 4 controller  (New ‘n Tasty is only out on PS4 at the moment) in quick succession so as to avoid causing Abe to plummet to his death.

I’m loving the game – I love its sense of humour, its main character, its gorgeous visuals – and everything was going so well until I got to a level set in a place called Scrabania, a desert landscape punctuated in its latter stages by platforms with massive drops either side of them. And it’s these situations which are causing me problems: And not that I want to admit it, but I’m blaming my hand/eye co-ordination.

The areas which require successive taps of the jump button are ones where Abe is riding a two-legged beast called an Elum, which has a boosted jump useful for clearing large gaps. Often you’ll have to tap the jump in quick succession to clear to clear two or three gaps in a row – sometimes jumping over land mines  – and this is where I struggle.

Time after time, I think I’ve pressed the jump button quick enough but, no, clearly I haven’t, sending Abe plunging to his death, only to re-spawn at the nearest checkpoint (which, thankfully, are nicely placed) where I repeat the process again and again. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve given up in frustration on this level because I just can’t get it sorted, tossing the PS4 controller onto the couch in frustration and walking away, vowing to not try it again. But, I’ll be back soon enough, determined to beat it but don’t – and it’s ruining my enjoyment of the game.

The signs of my waning hand/eye co-ordination have been manifesting themselves for a while, though, but I’ve just ignored them,  hoping it’s just because I’m tired or I’m having an off day. It used to be that my now-less-than perfect hand/eye co-ordination would manifest itself in co-op matches with my son where twitch reflexes and fast reactions make the difference from winning and losing. Sadly, more often than not these days, I’m losing when I play fast reaction games.  I don’t play as many first person shooters as I used to and while much of that is because I think most FPS games are generic and same old-same old, a lot of it is because my reflexes just aren’t up to scratch.

I’m also wondering whether I might need glasses now, too. To  be honest, I vaguely recall a few years back an optometrist telling me that because I was constantly looking at a computer screen I should be wearing glasses. I never heeded his advice then but these days small print is getting harder to read and old age is creeping up on me – but I’m not ready for a retirement home yet.

The harsh reality is that – as much as I don’t like to admit it – I’m getting older and I  don’t have the fast reactions and reflexes when it comes to hand/eye co-ordination that I used to. That likely means that I’m going to get more and more frustrated from time to time when it takes me twice as long to finish a level as it does my teenage son. Or it takes me ages to complete a simple sequence of platform jumps in a game like Oddworld: New ‘n Tasty. Bloody hell, it’s frustrating

I’m not going to give up on Oddworld: New ‘n Tasty, even if it might take me 22 million and 500 thousands hours to finish it at the rate I’m going. I guess the upside to my failing reactions, though, is that if you’re after someone you’re guaranteed to beat in a fast-paced multiplayer game, drop me an email: I’m your man.

 

 

 

 

One game trailer has me contemplating the CE edition – but it’s how much????

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The latest trailer for The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt has me wishing it was 2015 now: That’s when CD Projekt Red’s third game featuring Geralt of Rivia is due.

I’ve posted the trailer on this post. Watch it and tell me you’re not impressed. Apparently it’s in-game footage. If that is the case, then the current generation starts with that game (what I call the current generation means Xbox One and PlayStation 4).

The new trailer is also the reason I’m seriously considering getting the Collector’s Edition, even though it’s $300 in New Zealand. Yes, $300 and I think EB Games is the exclusive retailer for it. To be fair, I’ve got $288 credit at EB Games so it’s not really going to cost me much overall, and I’ll likely get the PC version if I get it, but that’s an insane amount to be paying for collector’s edition.

If I didn’t have the EB Games credit I wouldn’t even be considering the CE edition and frankly, I can’t understand how the NZ version of the same package costs so much more than the Australian version: It’s $AU199 for the PC version  as opposed to $279 in New Zealand. How can EB Games in NZ seriously justify this pricing? It just seems unjustified. If only I could use my NZ EB Game credit on the EB Games AU site!!!

Perhaps someone at EB Games will read this and post a reply.

Pricing aside, if I do get the the CE edition it’s the figurine of Geralt battling a griffin (its in the image below) that has me interested.

CD Projekt’s Red’s head of studio Adam Badowski has this to say about the polystone collectible: “Behold, the Collector’s Edition of The Witcher–over two kilograms of the most badass monster slayer, ready to bring your desktop figure collection to a whole new level.” Here’s what’s in the CE edition: All the contents from the standard edition of the game – A giant, 33 x 24 x26cm (10”), 100% hand painted, Polystone figure of Geralt of Rivia battling a Griffin – An exquisite, collector-grade Witcher medallion – A one-of-a-kind SteelBook™ box – A two-hundred-page artbook, containing breathtaking art from the game – Huge outer and inner Collector’s Boxes you can store your Witcher merchandise in!

That's what I call a collector's edition: a polylstone figurine of Geralt of Rivea slaying a griffin is the centrepiece of The Witcher 3's collector's edition. I want it now.

That’s what I call a collector’s edition: a polylstone figurine of Geralt of Rivea slaying a griffin is the centrepiece of The Witcher 3’s collector’s edition. I want it now.

And if I don’t spring for the collector’s edition, I’ll look at getting a digital version straight from GOG.com. I got an email today telling me I could pre-order the game for $AU80.99 – and while it doesn’t come with a badass polystone figurine it comes with a tonne of extras. I’ll contemplate over the next few days.

I’ve played the previous two Witcher games and while not totally taken with the first, I enjoyed the second but didn’t finish it: I just couldn’t find the time. And I’ve actually just re-downloaded in on Steam in anticipation for The Witcher 3. The Wild Hunt.

It’s out on February next year. Finger’s crossed I can wait that long.

inFamous Second Son: a game where the Dualshock 4 controller plays an important role

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Street art: You use the PlayStation 4's Dualshock 4 controller as a makeshift spray can to decorate inFamous Second Son's rendition of Seattle.

Street art: You use the PlayStation 4’s Dualshock 4 controller as a makeshift spray can to decorate inFamous Second Son’s rendition of Seattle.

When Delsin Rowe, the Native American Indian hero (or anti-hero, depending on whether you play it as a good guy or a bad guy) in Sucker Punch’s inFamous Second Son, first comes across a piece of pristine concrete just begging to be tagged, you get a chance to use the PlayStation 4’s Dualshock 4 controller in a most unlikely – but sensible – way.

You’re prompted to tilt to controller then shake it – as if you’re shaking an aerosol can, mixing the paint (you even hear the sound that the ball bearing inside an aerosol can makes when you shake a real aerosol can). You then keep the controller upright as you press the R2 button and spray paint over stencils, creating the tag that will decorate the wall. “A man, a plan and an aerosol can,” he says after completing each artwork.

Holding the Dualshock 4 like a spray can isn’t the first time you realise that Sucker Punch are going all out to use as many of the PS4 controller’s functions as they can, though.

Not long after the game has started (and Delsin has attained his first power) Delsin and his brother Reggie have to be scanned at a Department of Unified Protection (DUP) checkpoint before they can enter the streets of Seattle, where the game is set. Players are told to place a finger on the DS4 controller’s touchpad the move it to match an on-screen representation of a hand. It a sign that developer Sucker Punch aren’t happy with sticking with the basics on its first PlayStation 4 game.

There are other uses of the controller’s functionality, much of it using its built-in speaker. When Delsin’s mobile phone rings, the ringtone is audible through the speaker. During one mission where Delsin has to inspect a discarded DUP helmet, radio chatter from the helmet sounds out from the controller speaker, too. And if that wasn’t enough: When Delsin replenishes a power the sucking sound is – you guessed it – broadcast through the controller’s speaker. It’s wild.

And you know how you can play the game as a hero or a bad dude, your karma changing depending on which way you behave? Well, the light bar on the controller will change colour, depending on how your tracking in terms of goodness or badness: Blue for good, red for bad.

I’m pleased to see what Sucker Punch are doing with the PS4’s controller as this is what developers should be giving us in the current-generation of consoles, not just giving us what we had in the previous generation. Developers that give me new experiences will get my money.

So, I’m impressed with some of the tech behind the game but how am I finding the game itself?

Overall, I’m enjoying inFamous Second Son – the second half is definitely better than the first – but the powers Delsin gets as the game progresses are impressive, especially the final two. The last two powers really are great fun and can turn the tide in battle.

I’m spending a lot of time actually tootling around the city, freeing districts from the tyranny of the DUP in Showdown missions, hunting down blast shards to upgrade Delsin’s powers, saving harassed conduits being beaten by citizens, finding disguised DUP agents, and generally just exploring the city. That said, apparently I’m just about to encounter the game’s main boss for the second – and final – time so it seems I’ve almost completed it.

So, how are you finding inFamous Second Son?

Update: I’m now facing off against the main boss in the final showdown. So far, it’s been pretty brutal.

Update number two: I just defeated the final boss and completed the game. While I thought some of the boss fights had an unfair difficulty spike (one called enormous DUP agent springs to mind), it was a fun game. Now, I’m off to 100 per cent it!

Update number three: I forgot to mention that Second Son is the first game where I’ve tried out the remote play feature using the PS4. It works extremely well, although you’ll have to get to grips with a different control scheme given that the Vita doesn’t have physical L2 and R2 buttons. And apart from text often being too small to read properly (or maybe it’s my eyesight), it’s impressive being able to play a PS4 game using my PS Vita, while my wife watches her evening soap opera!