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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SPOILERS BELOW!DO NOT CONTINUE UNLESS YOU HAVE PLAYED THE WHOLE GAME!
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.
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’…
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.
Have you played? What are your thoughts on the ending? What choices did you make? Did you enjoy it?
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
‘Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell’ is a DLC for ‘Saints Row IV’. It was free one month on PS Plus so I downloaded it. I bought ‘Saints Row: The Third’ for PS3 but never got around to playing it so this was my first experience of the Saints Row series. The only thing I knew about it is that apparently it is a GTA rip-off, however, I think that gets said about any open world game with crime. I found it’s actually more of a spoof of these kind of games.
So, Gat Out Of Hell is set in hell and I found the whole setting/situation hilarious. The Devil has kidnapped one of your friends to marry his daughter, Jezebel. The aim of the game is to put the Devil in his place and punch him in the face. There are 5 areas of hell that you first need to take over and make allies before the final confrontation. You take over hell by completing the quests/mini games and learn new abilities along the way. It is a pretty short game if you are only completing the story-line (it is only DLC). However, it is quite decent if you are a completionist, I think you could definitely spend 20 hours (actually you have to for one of the trophies) without getting bored, although it might get a bit grindy by the end.
I found some of the controls great and some were clunky as hell. No pun intended. At first I didn’t think I was going to figure out how to use combat properly because I was struggling with the moving/aiming etc. It becomes a lot easier once you start gaining more powers. You start off being able to fly and super-sprint. You can then upgrade these abilities using collectables you find to fly for longer, run faster etc. The flying is amazing, I really enjoyed just flying around. It only got annoying when I got the wall running upgrade then any time I was near a wall I would start running up it instead of continuing flying. The super-sprint is also good except it gets a bit annoying when you are trying to get somewhere quickly without incident, you accidentally bash into someone and send them flying resulting in a wanted level. It’s easy to get rid of the wanted level – you just go to the nearest weapons vending machine – but it’s a bit of a pain in the ass.
If you are looking for a really challenging game then this isn’t it. Once you get more powers you get pretty over powered and don’t have too much trouble killing enemies. However, it is a shit tonne of fun sending demons flying all over the place. I enjoyed the atmosphere, and considering it is set in hell, the world felt really alive. Demons beating down on husks, cars and husks spontaneously combusting, it is pretty funny. The music and sound effects were perfect, I loved the music that played when you were near certain collectibles. The whole structure of hell, the rules and the mini-games were really funny. I got a good few laughs.
You can choose between two characters – Gat and Kinzie – so if one gets on your nerves too much then you can just switch. They both have their own set of collectibles too, whether that is a good or a bad thing is down to you. There is a co-op mode that I have yet to try. I think it is online only, not couch co-op which is a shame.
Overall, I thought this game was great. It has kept me entertained for hours and I don’t think it deserves the awful reviews it has got. I can’t complain, I got it for free, but also if I had got it for under £10 I would still have been happy. Don’t play it for a masterpiece. Remember it is DLC. Play it for a laugh and to wreck some shit and you will have a blast! I will definitely be playing the other Saints Row games in due course to see the actual context of everything that happened and the characters, and just to have some more fun game-play. Enjoy!
I had heard a lot about this strange little game and it was free one month on PS Plus so I jumped at the chance to play it. I had heard that it was only a short game and that people had such emotional reactions to it. I was very intrigued as to why everyone would be raving about such a little short game.
It is only around two hours long, and it is literally a journey. It is a very pretty game, traveling through some different terrains and figuring out simple puzzles to help you onto the next leg of the journey. It’s hard to know how much to say about this game because a lot of people think some of the beauty of the game it is in the unknown, and its more of an experience that you need to have for yourself. It is a visually and auditorily a beautiful game. That is definitely a lot of what made it enjoyable to me.
Once you have finished the game you might be left feeling emotional, feeling delighted, feeling underwhelmed or wondering what the hell just happened. I was the latter two. After doing some reading of other peoples opinions and theories of the game I decided to give it another go. There is no platinum trophy but it is an easy 100% and it’s not as if it takes a long time to play. I played again, this time with a better understanding of the game. I finished it again and this time, I actually shed a tear. I can’t even explain it. The game has its vague but literal storyline as well as a metaphorical one and it just got to me the second time. It must be a mixture of the music, the visuals and the meanings.
If you can get it for under £5 then you might like too, it depends on your gaming style. If you are only a FPS and action gamer then you may not like this. However, if you like quirky, different games and experiences then this may be more your cup of tea. I can’t really say it is story driven – there isn’t any dialogue – but I can say it kept me thinking for a few days later and telling everyone about it. I don’t even know exactly why, but it did make an impact and that’s what matters.
SPOILERS BELOW. DO NOT READ ON UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY PLAYED THE GAME TO THE END.
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