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Virtua Tennis 4 World Tour: completed!

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Long time no see.  How have you been?

I've played lots of games.  I'm some way into Assassin's Creed Brotherhood now, and I'll write more about that soon.  But what I've been playing most has been Virtua Tennis on the Vita.  I've been through the world tour mode two and a half times now, winning major tournaments, and have unlocked all the skill games and playing styles.  I've completed the arcade mode multiple times.  I've played the game not just to completion, but almost to boredom.

It's a really great game, which has surprised me since I've never found the previous VT games that involving.  But, you know, it's a tennis game.  There's not much more to say.

New Game – Shadow of Mordor

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My co-op partner for Knack is busy making a puppet theatre so I'll have to complete that later. I've got a nice selection of games on the PS4 to enjoy thanks to the recent sales.

I decided to start with Shadow of Mordor which has received some high praise from various gaming sites & gamers. It is supposed to be a fusion of the Assassin Creed games with Batman Arkham combat & a unique 'Nemesis' system.

After the backstory sequence you activate your first forge tower which unlocks an area of the map showing you various markers from main quest, side missions, herb locations & other collectibles.

I then jumped off the tower & along a zip line to hide in some bushes whilst I re-read the control scheme.


Counter is very important & so is holding down R2 to go into stealth mode. After meeting my first group of Orcs I engaged in combat to realise I was getting torn to shreds. I quickly ran away when the screen was pulsing red to warn me I was close to death.

From the beginning combat is very tough, in Batman you can take on a group of enemies and survive but not in Shadow of Mordor at least not from the beginning. I then returned to these wounded Orcs & picked them off one by one mainly by using stealth & taking on the remaining three in combat..


The game informed me of an Orc Captain that might have some information & gave me a marker to follow. Along the way I picked up some collectibles & herbs which rewarded me with some Mirian points so I could upgrade abilities like health.

Experience points are gained by defeating Orcs in combat & when you get enough you level up which gives you an ability point to unlock a new skill. I first chose the 'Strike from Above' skill which meant I could now perform aerial kills.

I slowly made my way to the captain whilst killing some more Orcs & collecting a few more herbs. I then learnt how to interrogate an Orc by pressing R1 to grab & press X to interrogate this gave me intel that the Captain was weak to ranged attacks.

Starting the captain mission I first focused on taking out the other Orcs by stealth attacks so I would not get over-run by enemies. I then got high up & used my bow to fire off four arrow shots which weakened the captain but did not finish him off, I then jumped down to attack & perform a finishing move by holding R2 & pressing Square. The captain was dead & his corpse was shown on Sauron's Army.

You need to be very careful & take things slowly during the first few hours, until you have unlocked some skills & upgraded your abilities. DO NOT go charging in expecting to kill a group of Orcs because you will die. You need to pick them off one by one, thin the numbers before going into attack. Stealth Kills are the best tactic to use.

Sauron's Army or the 'Nemesis' system is when an Orc rises up to become a Captain & advance further through the ranks  I assume which I am yet to discover.

Completed – MGSV Ground Zeroes

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It is a very short taste of the full game The Phantom Pain but I enjoyed the stealth combat once I figured out the best tactics & how to take out or sneak by the soldiers. Rescuing Paz is the second part of the mission & gives you a few more challenges like cameras & tanks.

I made a quick video of the last checkpoint which shows me leaving the soldiers at the base with a little present.

New Game – MGSV Ground Zeroes

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It took me a few attempts before I got into the hardcore stealth gameplay of MGS. The silencer has a wear down rate before it breaks, the cover mechanic does not stay snapped & there is a whole new button scheme to try and master.

But when it clicked !!

Oh what fun there is to enjoy, sneaking up on enemies to take them out, crawling underneath buildings to headshot a few soldiers & running away when the detected music plays.

I've rescued 'Chico' & I'm on the search for Paz.