Post — Page 101

Life is Strange: Episode 3 (PS4): COMPLETED!

Posted on 22/07/2015 Written by deKay

Now this was a mistake. On the one hand I really, really wanted to get on and play Episode 3 as the story of Life is Strange is so compelling, but on the other hand, Episode 4 could still be weeks away from release and Episode 5 is a distance future event at this point. I was going to leave it for a few weeks, to try and space it out, and make it a bit easier to bear, but no – “just a quick go, a teaser if you will” and it was all over. Bah.

As the plot progresses, it’s even harder to describe the events without spoiling things for my readers, but I’ll try. There’s a bit near the start where you have to somehow sneak past the principal which I was stuck on for ages. It turns out I’d not seen what he was doing early enough, so didn’t know there was a window of opportunity to get past him.

There’s a fantastic puzzle about how to get through a locked door, which starts off as what seems like a dull wander-round-and-find-four-things quest, but the payoff – amazing. After that Max and Chloe go for a midnight swim and there seems to be some sexual tension between the two, which is further suggested the following morning.

Anyway, the big (HUGE) event is in the second half of the game where it goes full Butterfly Effect and EVERYTHING changes. And I can’t wait to play Episode 4 as a result. Which, of course, I can’t do. Because it isn’t out yet. So frustrating!

As before, here’s me playing the second half of the episode (spoilers!):

And here are my chapter choices (also spoilers!):

Life is Strange: Episode 2 (PS4): COMPLETED!

Posted on 20/07/2015 Written by deKay

Oh my. That escalated quickly. Chloe nearly getting killed by a bullet, by a train and then the Kate breakdown… some really incredible scenes. Most of which I can’t really mention because of spoilers, and some of which might not even exist for you if you’re playing, because your choices may have differed.

One part that isn’t a spoiler, really, is the diner scene with Chloe. Max proves to her she can rewind time by correctly guessing what Chloe has in her pockets and then by predicting the future. Chloe’s reaction was awesome, and Max really felt like a superhero. Then, in the next scene Max is already feeling the strain of having powers – both physically and mentally.

Anyway, here’s my (full of spoilers) playthrough of the second half of this episode:

And, also spoilerly but in case you’re following my decisions:

Life is Strange: Episode 1 (PS4): COMPLETED!

Posted on 18/07/2015 Written by deKay

You heard right. That there PS4 isn’t a typo. I now have an actual Playstation 4. I blame Fallout 4. Anyway, with new consoles come new powers to play different games, and so the first game I bought and played (and completed) is Episode 1 of Life is Strange, a game I could have bought and played on at least two other consoles I already owned. Um.

Life is Strange is, so far, superb. It’s a great story and an excellent premise – college student suddenly gains power to rewind time and predict the future, but still has to deal with everyday life and a variety of nice and not so nice characters. All while other bizarre happenings and conspiracies and shadiness and stuff happen around her. And she needs to pass her photography class.

With many conversations and actions having lasting repercussions, and the ability to rewind and change what you say and do in light of new information or just to see a different reaction, it plays out unlike any other game I’ve played for a long time. Sometimes what seems like the best option provides the worst immediate response, but who knows if that’ll work out for the best in the end?

Life is Strange is definitely strange, but it’s sucked me in already and I’m really looking forward to the outcome of all these choices. These choices, in fact (which may be a spoiler, so be careful):

In my defence, I did at least try to hide in Chloe’s room. I just couldn’t find anywhere to do so!

StreetPass Zombies (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 12/07/2015 Written by deKay

There’s not a great deal to say about this, aside from that a couple of the final levels were pretty tricky, and even though the end boss appeared both indestructible and virtually impossible to dodge I still managed to off him on my first attempt.

The Wii remote is the best weapon by far, incidentally, except on the final boss where I found the pillow invaluable with it’s rapid fire.

Fun, and I’ll probably play it a bit longer, but time needs to be spent on StreetPass Fishing now!

Geometry Wars 3 (Vita): COMPLETED!

Posted on 11/07/2015 Written by deKay

Like the awesome but mostly ignored Wii version of Geometry Wars, Geometry Wars 3 (which was a free PS+ rental this month) has a great single player “adventure” mode. Each level takes one of the main score attack modes and requires you to beat a certain score or clear a level in under a certain time with the rules of that mode, or perhaps with no smart bomb or extra lives.

In addition, every so many levels, there’s a boss (which is a new thing in the series, I think?). All the bosses are superficially the same, consisting of a large gemstone type enemy who periodically drops its shield while spawning standard Geometry Wars enemies and occasionally rushing you.

It all feels a bit like a “best of” Geometry Wars, really. It has the stuff from the first two games, and from the Wii game, and then nicks a chunk from the also excellent Nano Assault Neo by setting many of the levels on the surface of a 3D shape rather than on a flat plane. As you progress through Adventure mode, the score multiplier Geom items also act as currency with which to buy or upgrade special weapons and drones.

Frankly, it’s superb and my only issue with the Adventure mode is that the final boss is a massive, massive difficulty spike. I easily spent as long attempting that single level than I did on the previous 49 levels combined! A single life and multiple “phases” and attack patterns, along with insta-death walls did not make it simple.