Recommended guide: PS3trophies.org
Difficulty: 5/10
I found a few things surprising about Spec Ops: The Line. One being how damn good the game was and the other being how doable the platinum trophy was. I usually just ignore shooters for trophy hunting because the online play usually tosses in a few that I’ll never obtain but Spec Ops had a list that was almost perfectly balanced.
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Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Dates: May 15, 2012 (PS3, Xbox 360); May 29, 2012 (PC)
Max Payne sure could use a good luck charm. I mean, there’s a difference between being a little down on your luck and being stuck in a complete cyclical shit storm that one can only drown in. Max Payne does just that. Wallowing in his own tears over his losses is a main theme in Max Payne 3, Rockstar’s first official take on the franchise since being handed off by Remedy, the creators of Alan Wake. Rockstar has a unique style they pervade into all of their titles and Max Payne 3 exhibits just that, even if other areas are very stale in comparison.
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Spider-Man has fully transplanted back into the open world setting and that usually means one thing regarding the trophies and achievements: collect-o-thons! Grand Theft Auto IV was that way. It was such an amazing game but it had a terrible way to track all of the meaningless collectibles and it will always stick in my head because of it. Times are different now and games are better for it. The Amazing Spider-Man learns from past mistakes, making the coveted 100% a little easier on the user.
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Most of these articles consist of just one completion and the difficulty or trials associated with it. Metal Gear Solid 3 HD doesn’t quite fit this mold, mostly because it contained two parts. Yes, call me stupid or careless with my money, but I bought both the PS3 and Vita versions (and a PS2 version years ago) of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. It actually might not be as stupid as you think, because of how these versions talk to each other, trophies and all.
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Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: June 26, 2012
For as long as I can remember, games have always kept the body count high but haven’t ever been too successful about making us ponder any moral quandaries. Ninja Gaiden 3 and the Call of Duty games have dipped a toe into the sticky subject but have failed miserably. How can I feel anything when the main gameplay is mercilessly obliterating everything and anything that dares to move? Such a concept is oxymoronic at its core and games have always struggled with balancing the narrative and gameplay in harmony. Spec Ops: The Line aims to change that predisposed failure with a lofty goal of delivering a cover-based third-person shooter capable of making you actually care about the actions you take. With a forgotten intellectual property and a lengthy development cycle, this almost had its GPS set to missing the mark, but something very different occurred. Not only is playing Spec Ops: The Line engaging, but it delivers a story that becomes one of the best in gaming, let alone the shooter genre.
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Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: June 26, 2012 (PS3, Xbox 360); August 10, 2012 (PC)
Comic book movies have been immensely popular for the past few years but they generally have at least one blasé factor associated with them: the game tie-in they have is usually uninspired, rushed, and/or not up to industry standards. The Amazing Spider-Man has dropped into theaters and the Spider-Man professionals over at Beenox have been tasked to churn out yet another adventure based around Spidey’s newest rebooted film. Only a year has separated each of Beenox’s last three Spider-Man games and the haste of the short development time shows, but despite that enough of the Spider-Man spirit comes to the forefront to make it worth a look.
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Personal attachment to franchises comes and goes with the times but some have the staying power to last (sorry Sonic). Metal Gear is one of those beloved series and for good reason: they’ve all been critically acclaimed by the press and fans. This is extremely evident when these crazed fans get together to discuss the “best” Metal Gear game. Was it the iconic first step done by Metal Gear Solid? Or how about Metal Gear Solid 2‘s wacky narrative and ground-breaking attention to detail? Who could get forget Naked Snake’s torture sequence in Metal Gear Solid 3? Microwave hallway, anyone? Rather than reviewing all of the ones I’ve played, I figured I’d give my personal thoughts and experiences with each of them and how they’ve affected me, if at all.
Now just because I’m writing doesn’t mean I’ve been there from the start. In 1998, I was only in second grade and the only games that I was mature enough to handle were Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. Tekken 3 was about as violent and mature as it got for me. Metal Gear Solid and I had just missed each other by a few years. It wasn’t until Metal Gear Solid 4 had been released that made me jump into the franchise. That’s right. On June 12, 2008, I must have been the only person walking into Best Buy buying the Metal Gear Solid Essential Collection, rather than the new PS3 blockbuster title. I blame the peer pressure on the Internet.
Might as well say this now: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD
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Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: October 20, 2010 (Xbox 360); November 30, 2010 (PC)
I’m unsure of what I have done to warrant this sort of extreme hate from Super Meat Boy. No other game has looked so cuddly and cute on the surface only to pull back the curtain and reveal such a crushing, relentless sort of difficulty. Super Meat Boy may share the same acronym as Super Mario Bros., but they are indeed polarizing takes on their respective genre of platforming. Super Meat Boy is definitely the hardest game I’ve ever played and I’m pretty sure it racist against all humans, but that didn’t stop me from coming back for more.
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Trophies and achievements can often feel so distant from the main game. It doesn’t negate their “worth” (that alone is very subjective) but I’d like to see more games have their reward systems interlaced with the actual systems in play. Lollipop Chainsaw was one of those games that did a good job of making a list that fed into the game and ensured some necessary staying power.
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