Author: CtrlAltNoob

Review – Telltales The Walking Dead Season 1 – PS4

The Walking Dead Season 1 is the third Telltale Game that I have played, following ‘Tales from the Borderlands’ and ‘The Wolf Among Us’, even though it was created before both. I must admit, I think I had put it off for longer than I needed too simply because I was scared. I am obsessed with zombies but I do not play zombie games. At all. I just can’t. However, I did it! And it was one hell of a ride!

The Walking Dead: Season 1_20170418171641

Telltale’s TWD is inspired by The Walking Dead graphic novels. It is not canon with the shows, however we do meet some familiar faces. The timeline starts before the comics. We take control of Lee Everett. A convicted murderer who is on his way to prison, but then, the apocalypse happens. We stumble upon and create an unlikely bond with Clementine, a little girl that needs help. Together, we navigate this new world, learning as we go how to cope, who to trust, and most importantly, how to survive.

The Walking Dead: Season 1_20170418173327

I had heard great things about this game so, as much as I thought I knew what to expect, I also wasn’t sure if it would live up to the hype. As I was playing the first episode, I wasn’t really enjoying it as much as I had hoped. That all went out of the window in episode two though. That is when the game really picked up for me. The great thing about this game is that it isn’t all action. There is plenty of time to go around the group, asking them questions, getting to know them and taking a breather. But then you can be thrown right into the action where you have to make quick decisions and difficult choices. There was a great balance between the action and the quiet moments that really complimented the story for me.

The Walking Dead: Season 1_20170418174213

At the beginning I found the dialogue to be a bit messy, for example, things seemed to escalate into shouting matches faster than they should have, and sometimes the option I pressed didn’t seem to match what was actually said. But as the game went on, I found I loved it more and more. For nearly every question I had in my head there was an option to ask it in the game. Characters would say exactly what I was thinking, unlike TV shows with unrealistic monologues. It’s a fantastic way to be allowed to be really involved in the story.

The characters were great too. Some long term, some for passing visits. Some I loved, some I really hated and some changed my mind. Not everyone you meet in the game has to die which is a welcome change from the TV show, it leaves much appreciated room for ambiguity and wonderment, and potential for future stories.

The Walking Dead: Season 1_20170418173426

I felt like I died a lot unnecessarily during the game. Not due to being too slow or pressing the wrong buttons, but due to the controls feeling unresponsive. That is not something I experienced in any of the more recent games so I think it is just due to being an older game model. One time, I made an important decision then died almost immediately after. When I pressed continue I had to make the decision again. I didn’t really like this as in these games, I like that your decision is final when you make it. It feels more authentic when you make the decision in the heat of the moment rather than after reflecting on it. The game was quite glitchy. Sometimes it can freeze for a few seconds after auto-saving (same problem in all Telltale games that I have played so far) and sometimes the graphics wiggle around as if you are shaking the TV. It is a bit weird but it doesn’t happen often enough to make the game unplayable. It just breaks the immersion sometimes.

The Walking Dead: Season 1_20170418173444

The episodes of this game felt a lot longer than the other TT games I have played so far. That would be a good thing for most people but I did find myself looking forward to finishing rather than enjoying the ride sometimes. The only reason for this is because – and the same reason that I enjoyed Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us more – of the atmosphere. I really don’t enjoy scary games. It wasn’t a problem for most of the game but there was one certain episode that I didn’t enjoy as much because it was noticeably more spooky than the others. This literally isn’t a problem for anyone else except me so most people can disregard that complaint.

The Walking Dead_ Season 1_20170418173824.jpg

Overall, although it is probably my least favourite of the three I have played at the time of playing, I think I will amend my list to Tales From The Borderlands > The Walking Dead Season 1 > The Wolf Among Us. Although I loved playing The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead story felt superior and has impacted me a lot more. As far as the game goes, the character interaction was great, the game did a great job cutting out unnecessary scenes and it was just generally up there. I have been left feeling suitably creeped out, emotional and a little bit lost. I now have The Walking Dead 400 days DLC to complete before moving onto Season 2!

The Walking Dead: Season 1_20170415141314

SPOILERS BELOW! DON’T CONTINUE UNLESS YOU HAVE PLAYED THE FULL GAME

Continue reading “Review – Telltales The Walking Dead Season 1 – PS4”

Let’s Play – Curious Expedition 2 – Early Access

My first experience with Curious Expedition 2 was during the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition. Thanks to the developers Maschinen-Mensch, I now have the opportunity to play the full Early Access game!

Curious Expedition 2 is a roguelike expedition simulator, an adventure game with board game like elements, and a bit of a story generator. Developed by a small team, this game is shaping up to be great, and it is already tonnes of fun!

I have never played the first Curious Expedition but from what I can see, they have taken everything everyone loved about the first game and developed it further, and I am looking forward to jumping in further and seeing where my journey takes me.

Early access is available to everyone on Steam now!

Full playlist available on Youtube!

New York City

Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4.

More Spider-man Photography

More Video Game Photography

PS Plus – July 2020

July 2020 marks the 10 year anniversary of PS Plus. To celebrate, they gave us an additional game Erica, on top of the regularly scheduled line up of NBA 2K20 and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

NBA 2K20 is a basketball game, made to simulate the complete basketball experience.

I can’t tell you whether it is a good basketball game or not, as I don’t know anything about basketball and I don’t play sports games. But the atmosphere was pretty good!

Rise of the Tomb Raider – I was considering not doing a video for this one as I still haven’t played Tomb Raider 2013.

I’m glad I did though. The Tomb Raider series is on my list of next Action Adventure games to play once I have finished Uncharted. It’s beautiful to look at, the action felt fun, and I’m actually pretty interested in the story. All that and I didn’t even reach a proper combat section yet.

Erica is an FMV game that takes around 2 hours to complete, which made it the first full FMV game that I’ve ever played!

Based on my one play-through, I find it a little hard to recommend as I feel I have more questions than answers to the story. However, how much of that will be solved with a second play-through to see the multiple endings is yet to be seen. The cinematography was great and the characters were fun to try and get to know.

Overall, I cannot let my saltiness at sports games alter my opinion. This was a solid month. Maybe not 10 year celebration worthy, but if every month was like this one we couldn’t really complain.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xoSsXyQ3CFehB0k55zHC9

Playlist contains all monthly games!

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Let’s Play – Virginia

Virginia has been on my radar for a while despite not really knowing anything about it. I knew it was short, I knew it was a narrative game, I knew it was unique, and that is it!

In Virginia we play as FBI Special Agent Anna Tarver, while she takes on a missing persons case, but that isn’t all there is to it.

Stylistically I have never played anything like it. The stills from the game didn’t attract me at all so I was in love with how much I liked the art style when I actually started playing. Not to mention the music. There were lots of things I admired about this game, but yet I am still not sure I liked it. Join me on this first person, boldly edited, expressive, strange, trip.

Full playlist available on Youtube!

Review – The Wolf Among Us – PS4

The Wolf Among Us is the second Telltale Game that I have played, following Tales from the Borderlands. I had high expectations going in as I had read that many people consider it the best of the bunch. All I actually knew about it was that it was about werewolves. Well.. that’s what I thought. Imagine my surprise when the main character turned out to be the Big Bad Wolf! See, The Wolf Among Us is actually based on the DC Fables comics. Take Shrek. Set it in NY. Add in a mystery crime drama angle. Now add sex, drugs and rock and roll. Throw in some blood, guts, and lots of cussing. There you have, the Fables. I like to compare it to the MCU. Marvel has its superhero blockbusters, then it has its gritty Netflix dramas. Well, this is the Netflix of fairytales. Dark, gritty, brutal and it is just as bizarre as you’d expect it to be.

The Wolf Among Us_20170330000811

Bigby Wolf is the Sheriff of Fabletown, slogging away to try and keep Fabletown a functional place while also making up for his terrible past. Soon after we are introduced to the world, things start going downhill, fast. A crime takes place and it’s down to Bigby to solve it. Throughout the game we learn about the characters, past and present. As time goes on you will make crucial decisions in a bid to solve the mystery and make the town a better place. The game is not a comedy but it does have some dark humor, and for me it took a few episodes just to stop laughing at the whole concept. I mean that in the best way possible. The more I was introduced to new characters and lore, the more surreal and yet brilliant I found it. The world is immersive, the dark tone compliments the whole scenario perfectly and I actually found myself pausing the game just to give myself longer to make certain decisions which is something I had promised myself I would never do.

The Wolf Among Us_20170330000706

As far as gameplay is concerned, it is played in the same way as other Telltale games. It is very story based and the main components of gameplay include dialogue options, QTE’s during action, and sections of exploration and detective work. Not forgetting, of course, the decision making. I found the game didn’t always play as smoothly as I had hoped, the screen lagged and skipped a couple of times but it wasn’t as bad as Tales from the Borderlands. I thought the graphics were great. The game is very stylish and it suits the fact that it is inspired by comics. The music, the colours, the setting, they all worked together perfectly to create the atmosphere that you want to keep coming back to.

The Wolf Among Us_20170330001628

I enjoyed the story, however I did think some of the dialogue was clunky sometimes. As always, you get to play Bigbys character however you prefer by choosing the appropriate dialogue. However, sometimes I would make a selection but it wouldn’t come out as I had expected, or sometimes there wasn’t an option that I wanted at all. Then sometimes peoples replies didn’t sound quite right. I instinctively compare it to Tales from the Borderlands because that game impressed me so much with its brilliant dialogue, unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to its standards. As long as you are aware of it though then it shouldn’t bother you too much, I think my only problem was having my expectations too high.

Telltale games are known for having easy platinum trophies. Usually you get platinum for completing the game. The Wolf Among Us, however, had a few extra things to do to achieve platinum which I enjoyed very much as it allowed you to go back and explore other options.

The Wolf Among Us_20170330004038

Personally, I enjoyed Tales from the Borderlands more than The Wolf Among Us. However, that is only down to personal taste. This is certainly a game to play. If you are intrigued by the concept then absolutely pick it up. I do not think you will be disappointed. It is a joy to play and if you are anything like me you will be sad that it’s over when you finish it.

The Wolf Among Us_20170330000857

SPOILERS BELOW! DO NOT CONTINUE UNLESS YOU HAVE PLAYED THE WHOLE GAME!

The Wolf Among Us_20170330001250

First of all, I would like to discuss the ending. When the game ended I sat staring for a while trying to figure out what I had missed. I honestly did not understand the twist. I was quite disappointed. It took a bit of research for me to understand other people’s interpretations. Either 1. Faith was glamoured as Nerissa all along. That would mean that the dead Faith at the beginning was actually Nerissa under glamour. This would make sense because Faith was known for being a master of disguise. Or 2. We never actually met Faith. She was already dead at the beginning and when we did meet ‘Faith’ it was actually Nerissa glamoured as her. This was to get Bigby’s attention before he later found her head. Although I feel like the first theory is more likely the answer, I prefer the second one so much more. It only makes one smart and unprecedented change to the story rather than making a whole character feel like a lie. After reading that the writers didn’t even have a set ending in mind, it only added to my disappointment as I felt it came very much out of the blue.

The Wolf Among Us_20170330002738

What I would have really liked was to see more of what happened after the fact. In my ending, the Crooked Man went down the witching well and I won the town over. Problem is, there wasn’t much of an epilogue to show the consequences of my decisions. For all that happened, I might as well have just ripped his head off… I probably wouldn’t have known the difference.

The other thing that I would have liked to have seen more of is the Farm. We heard about it a lot and I genuinely thought that we were going to visit it. I think it would be awesome to have a Season 2 based on the Farm being corrupt. Unraveling some conspiracy and turning it into a ‘happy ever after’…

The Wolf Among Us_20170329231025

Considering I know shockingly little about real fable stories, I found some of the appearances so funny. The conflict between Bigby and the Woodsman was brilliant, I knew deep down that it wasn’t him and it was so satisfying when we had a moment of mutual respect. I found it hilarious that Georgie Porgie was a pimp. I played the whole beginning adamant that it wasn’t the pimp that was responsible… oops. Bloody Mary was terrifying. The Tweedles were AWFUL, I loved ripping his throat out. I enjoyed the glamours, the mundies, the near immortality, going full big bad wolf, even the butcher gave me a giggle. The whole world was so cool and well thought out, I do hope that we get a Season 2.

The Wolf Among Us_20170330003458

Have you played? What are your thoughts on the ending? What choices did you make? Did you enjoy it?

Let’s Play – Erica

In my whole time of covering the PS Plus games, this is only the second game I have done a complete series of, following What Remains of Edith Finch.

Erica is an FMV mystery thriller, and in classic narrative game style you get to make choices that determine the outcome of your story.

I have only played through once and am considering another play-through, as I really don’t feel like the story resolved at all. Perhaps another play-through will give another perspective and some more answers. Let me know what you think!

Full playlist available on Youtube!

Review – Tales from the Borderlands – PS4

Tales from the Borderlands is a game from Telltale Games, well known for their episodic, story driven, choice heavy games. This game follows on directly from Borderlands 2, although you don’t have to have played it. In fact, I knew nothing about the Borderlands games before I played this one. I noticed one day that Episode 1 was free on the PS Store and decided to give it a go with no expectations. I did not expect to be completely drawn in the way I was. I absolutely loved it and couldn’t wait to play the rest. Since this was also my first Telltale experience, I waited for the Telltale Collection to go on sale and bought this along with the first two seasons of The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us and Game of Thrones. Maybe 6 months(?) after playing Episode 1, I have finally gotten around to playing the rest of the game and I have to say, I think it is a must play.

Tales from the Borderlands_20170218125713

I’ll start with the story. Even though I had never played a Borderlands game, it was easy to understand what was going on. I even surprised myself considering I’m not usually the biggest Sci-Fi/Space fan. We meet out main characters – Rhys and Fiona – in a bit of a bad situation. They have been kidnapped and we get to learn the story through them telling it to their captor. From the get go we get to decide how we would like to play them through the various dialog choices. Considering these characters aren’t typically likable types, they are so very likable. Personalities develop throughout the game as well as relationships and I really started to care for them.

Most of the game takes place on Pandora, a desert planet filled with psychos, cannibals and murderers. The silly situations, the sheer randomness and the dark humour all come together to make this game hilarious. It makes me smile when I think about it and that is what I like in a story. Not that is doesn’t come without its serious moments. Some were intense and at one point I nearly shed a tear, but I will always remember this game for the laugh out loud moments it gave me.

Tales from the Borderlands_20170219211742

Personally, I liked the first, fourth and fifth episodes the best. They seemed to have the most memorable moments for me. A lot of people say that the choices don’t make a difference in these games but I really disagree. Of course, the story goes down the same track no matter what you choose but YOUR story can be totally different to another persons. After reading up on other peoples experiences, there are multiple things that I didn’t know could happen or that others didn’t depending on what they did or didn’t do. I love this in a game. It makes you really want to think about your choices. However, most of the time they have to be instinct as you don’t have much time to choose. For me, the great thing about the dialog options is that there was almost always something that I wanted to say. I never felt forced to say something out of character or that I didn’t like. Massive credit to the writers.

Tales from the Borderlands_20170219201640

Th voice acting was great. There were some recognisable voices in the mix and they were all brilliant. A lot of the humour wouldn’t work without their tones and expressiveness so bravo to the team. The graphics are.. Telltale graphics. They are cartoons. They are never supposed to be photorealistic and have their own feel to them that I love. The animations aren’t always the best but they do manage to get the point across. One of my favourite things is Rhys’s shocked face. There are some gorgeous moments as well as some gruesome moments. I can’t really comment on the soundtrack as I didn’t really notice it but I have no idea how because from the discussions I have read it is highly praised.

Tales from the Borderlands_20170219212736

There is only one thing that I can complain about and that was the running of the game itself. It auto saves regularly and every time it does, the game skips a bit. The same when you switch characters. Only for a second. It doesn’t matter too much at first, you don’t really miss anything, but near the end it becomes at best annoying and at worst a nuisance.

Tales from the Borderlands_20170219202605

Overall, this game was right up my street. My advice? Save this one for a rainy day. Feeling grim? Whack this baby on, you won’t be sorry. If you are a fan of the Borderlands series, play it. There might be a few surprises for you. If you’re a fan of Telltale games, play it. Seriously, it’s a joy. Now, I’m just sad it’s over. I’ve got my fingers crossed for a sequel. In the meantime I’ll be trying out the other Telltale games so I’ll keep you posted!

Tales from the Borderlands_20170219202912

Review – Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons – PS4

Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons is the story of two brothers on their epic quest to find medicine for their poorly father. You control both brothers throughout a variety of environments and situations in the fantasy world that they live in. At its heart it is an adventure 3D platformer. It is not a puzzler but does involve some problem solving. It is a simple game, driven along by its story, which is strange to say as the characters don’t speak in a real language. The story was emotional, but much as I wanted to love it, I’m so sad to admit that it didn’t quite strike the chord with me.

Brothers : a Tale of Two Sons_20170309195234

The controls couldn’t be simpler, and yet somehow can be so difficult! The left half of your controller controls one brother and the right half controls the other. Even then, it’s only the thumbsticks and the trigger buttons. It is such an obvious way to do it yet feels absolutely unique and honestly can be surprisingly tricky. The more you go on the more you get used to it but even by the end, I still kept getting muddled up. I felt like I was playing the piano at one point. People with good coordination might get the hang of it quickly but even if you can’t, you can’t really go too wrong. The game itself was surprisingly easy. I completed it all by myself without having to google anything, which basically means that anyone could play it, as I usually get stuck on something. Don’t go into it expecting a challenge.

Brothers : a Tale of Two Sons_20170309205223

The game took me somewhere between 3-4 hours to complete, all in one session. Throughout the game there are themes of teamwork and brotherhood, but the whole story is tinged with an underlying feel of tragedy, sorrow and was even disturbing at times. All of these feelings were produced by the moving environments and the haunting soundtrack. There is no platinum trophy but it took me maybe an extra 30 mins-1 hours to 100% it. There aren’t any trophies for the main storyline but I suggest playing through yourself first without thinking about them. I only got 1 on my first playthrough. Then when you are finished you can go back chapter by chapter to mop them up.

Brothers : a Tale of Two Sons_20170309212034

The graphics weren’t particularly good but granted, it is a game from the last generation and it is more about the style than the graphics themselves. It retains an animated style which compliments the storytelling. There was one particular environment that I loved and without spoiling anything, it made me feel really small. As for the rest of the game – the camera angles weren’t the best, you could only move them as and when allowed. I encountered three glitches but they were mainly all graphical, nothing game breaking. Quite immersion breaking though as one happened at a crucial story moment unfortunately.

Brothers : a Tale of Two Sons_20170309214320

As much as I can understand the people that loved this game and were truly moved by it, I hate the fact that I am not one of those people. I just felt that, to me, certain plot elements felt a bit forced. I have been impressed and had so many feels from so many other story driven games, I think my expectations were a bit high. Having said that, I thought the world was really intriguing. I think I would have preferred a bigger game with speaking characters to show off the story in its glory.  Personally, if I could go back, I wouldn’t buy this game. However, if you can get it for a couple of quid it might be worth a try, and I think it would be a great PS Plus game (if I hadn’t already bought it of course).

Brothers : a Tale of Two Sons_20170309222932

Update – Years later, I am reading this back and I am quite shocked at my reaction! My opinion of the game has definitely increased over time, and I never even mentioned that this game has a moment that makes it worth playing. Ultimately I am very glad that I played it, and there were some powerful moments, they obviously just didn’t live up to my expectations at the time.