Open World – CtrlAltNoob

Review – Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition – PS4

Sleeping Dogs is an open world, third person, crime/action game developed by United Front Games. I had heard it described as a surprisingly good GTA clone set in Hong Kong which sounded good to me! It regularly goes on sale for less than £5 on the PS Store and that includes all DLC. It’s a steal. We play as Wei Shen, an undercover cop, infiltrating a faction of the Triads, the Sun on Yee. Between gaining their trust, the increasing rivalry both internally and externally, and keeping his true motives secret, Wei has to find the balance between keeping his cover and keeping his humanity.

Getting to play a cop instantly differentiates this game from the GTA series and that drew me to it straight away. It is an interesting dilemma and it also allows us to play both sides of the fence, creating an area of gameplay that you can’t explore in most other crime games. The game is played like most other open world games. There are the main ‘Triad’ missions, then there are the side ‘cases’, jobs, random events and favours. All of these missions raise your XP in each area to unlock new perks. Finally, there are races and loads of collectables.. because would it really be an open world game without them?

The whole style of play also sets this game apart from GTA. Where GTA has a lot of gunplay, Sleeping Dogs is more focused on hand to hand combat. With combo based moves and limited weapons, whether you prefer this will totally depend on whether you prefer melee or range. As much as the game receives a lot of praise for the combat, I prefer to keep my distance in these types of games, therefore that mechanic is slightly lost on me. Having said that, it is very satisfying to be completely surrounded and managed to kick the asses of every one of them single-handedly. I found the chase scenes and parkour a little odd at first but it is very easy to get used to. You can only really go where the game allows you to which is a shame when you try to explore something you can’t, but at the same time at least it stops you wasting your time.

Hong Kong is a great setting for the game and I enjoyed the atmosphere, from the hectic market, to the long alleys, to the oriental parks, to the peaceful temple, to the more upmarket areas. I have never been to China but I have been to Chinatowns.. and after playing this game I am still not sure whether I want to go or not! The different districts each have their own feel, and I feel that the map is the perfect size. The graphics are nice, especially when it is raining. They are nothing ground breaking but they are definitely modern enough to keep you engaged.

The controls were good most of the time but I did have some issues. First was the responsiveness. Sometimes when I would try to counter an attack it just would not work. Sometimes when I tried to enter a car I had to find exactly the right angle. I had heard the driving was bad, but I didn’t actually find the driving too bad. It was the camera angles that were a nightmare. It isn’t unplayable by any means but it can be annoying sometimes. That and the motorbikes. As soon as I finished the motorbike races I promised myself that I wasn’t driving one again.

There were some features in this game that were just simple things that made the world of difference, especially when you compare to GTA. There are garages dotted all over the map, so when you need a car you don’t always have to steal them. This was huge for me, it’s so much more convenient. Another thing I loved is the fact that everything didn’t constantly reset itself. If I left my car somewhere and went to do something on foot, nine times out of ten my car would still be there, where as in GTA they always seem to vanish. I liked the GPS system too, or at least when it worked. Sometimes it didn’t differentiate whether I needed to be on a road above or below where I was, but it was very handy on the highways because it shows you a big arrow pointing at which lane you need to be in. The police system was SO much better in this. When police are nearby they show up on you map, and they don’t just chase you for any little thing. Even when they do, they are a lot easier to escape than in GTA. This was the most welcome change ever for me, I always use the cheats in GTA simply because the police are constantly everywhere and so bloody annoying. The collectables map is a huge help in this game. You have to unlock them, but once you do, it is an absolute life saver if you are going for 100% or want the perks that come with them. Finally, the last improvement over GTA for me is that you can save from anywhere. When you load your game you will be at your nearest apartment, but when you save you don’t have to travel all the way too it. This saves so much time if you are like me and like to constantly save in case you eff something up.

One of the things that I think GTA wins the battle on is weapons. In Sleeping Dogs, melee weapons aren’t very durable and break after a few hits, and if you get a gun in a mission you generally don’t get to keep it. It makes sense that you can’t walk around carrying all your weapons, and I got used to it eventually, but I still prefer being able to switch when I want. But, to counter this, it does make for some exciting missions. Bringing fresh air to a gunfight then coming out on top is always fun! The other thing that I find quite funny in Sleeping Dogs is the AI. If you are driving a car and you hit something, they never stop, they just keep on driving. Every time. If you nearly run someone over they will just stand there in front of you and stare at your car. Thankfully it’s usually ok to run them over because you can see on your map that there is no cops around. Lastly is the spawning. When I call my valet my car always spawns in the weirdest of places. The last notable one I had was under a truck.

Technically, I didn’t have any problems with the game for most of my playthrough. I took my PS4 to my neighbours one day because I was house sitting and as I was playing, I noticed the game was feeling a bit laggy. Then at one point, it completely froze up on me, I had to force it off. This would have been really annoying if I didn’t save so often. I have no idea what caused it because using a different TV shouldn’t affect it at all, but I just think it is worth bearing in mind. Other than that I had one other glitch. If you have your gun out, everyone around you cowers, even the ones you can usually talk to. So if you have your gun out, even if it gives you the option, don’t talk to them. I made this mistake. I got a pop up saying to you want to buy this, Yes or No. No matter what I pressed on it wouldn’t work because the person was now cowering. I had to quit the game to get out of the situation.

To sum up, I really do recommend this game to anyone who enjoys open world games. It has a good story, a great main character, fun gameplay and a nice unique atmosphere. I am aiming for the Platinum which is getting a bit grindy, but I have yet to play the two DLCs (accessible from the main menu) so I can’t comment on them yet. I can, however, say that I’ve got my money’s worth. It’s bloody, it’s violent and it’s satisfying, so please, pick it up and enjoy it!

What did you think? Did you enjoy it? Was it better than GTA?

Review – Infamous Second Son – PS4

Infamous Second Son is a PS4 exclusive, developed by Sucker Punch Productions. It was one of the first next-gen games, but I’ve just gotten around to playing it. There were two previous Infamous titles available on the PS3 but I haven’t played them so I am very new to the series. Second Son is a 3^rd person, open world, action-adventure game.

The game takes place in a dystopian Seattle. Conduits (people with powers), or Bio-terrorists (as they are called by the scaremongering government), are persecuted by the public and authorities alike. The D.U.P exists to discover and detain conduits, removing them from society. We play as Delsin Rowe, a small town boy, looking to liberate his town from the hell that the D.U.P leader -Augustine – has unleashed upon them. Choose to either try to be peaceful or to unleash your own hell as you fight, not only for your home town, but the city itself.

Once the tutorial missions are over, you end up with free reign in Seattle. The map is divided by districts, each controlled by the D.U.P. As you complete certain tasks, such as destroying security cameras, spray painting walls and destroying command centers, the percentage of control the D.U.P has will decrease. Eventually, once you have done enough damage, you will be able to completely drive them out, neighborhood by neighborhood. On top of this, you have your main story line missions, that not only move the story along but change the time of day, the weather, and in time you will learn new powers.

As soon as I got to the main game I instantly felt the similarities to Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell (I assume it is also similar to Saints Row 4, but that is still in my backlog). I definitely wasn’t complaining about that since I had already enjoyed liberating Hell. I had heard people recommend these game to fans of the others before, but I had assumed that it was because both contain superpowers, I didn’t realise just how similar the game structure would be. I have to admit, I found the minigames in Gat Out Of Hell more fun than in Second Son. Having said that, the powers and controls are pretty different.

For me, the combat was a huge learning curve. There is no cover option and instead it encourages a lot of movement. As someone that likes to either hide behind cover a lot in GTA, and someone that likes to charge right in with a Battle Axe in Skyrim, I found it tough to get used to the combat style. A couple of hours into the game and I was putting off the story missions in favour of clearing the city. I got stuck trying to defeat a command centre and felt like quitting the game. I went looking for advice on the internet and decided to give it another shot, but this time turned the game to Easy, and get further along in the story to get more powers first. It worked. Once I got the second set of powers I enjoyed the game so much more. So my advice to people is to find a healthy balance between clearing the districts and doing the story missions.

Other than the combat, I found the controls to be really good. The parkour was really enjoyable and fluent. The one thing I would change would be to allow the ability to dangle from a ledge or building without having to jump off and catch it, as that was the only thing spoiling. The good/evil choices encourage a second playthrough, so even though it’s not the longest game in the world (it took me longer than I expected), you still get plenty of gameplay. The controller was used in creative ways which is refreshing, especially since now we are well into the next gen and I haven’t seen it utilised THAT much (having said that, I mostly play older games so I could be wrong about that).

Sadly, I only thought the story was ok. It was fine but I wasn’t REALLY invested, and I think that is partly because I didn’t enjoy the character of Delsin. My playthrough was played as a good character and I would be interested to see whether he is more likable as an evil character, but at the same time, I don’t feel compelled to play through again. My favourite part of the story was actually in the final mission, I feel if they had brought some of that forward then I would have been more invested in the story earlier.

The graphics were nice, more the scenery than the characters for me. There is a photo mode which is particularly impressive, you can move the camera, rotate it, zoom, apply filters etc. There are some beautiful moments when you are in the right lighting. There were two things that bothered me character wise. Sure they are nit picks but what do you know.. I’m a nit picker. First, it was raining in a cut-scene and the characters didn’t look wet. It took me out of the moment because they should have been soaking. The second thing is Delsin’s hat. He wears his hat throughout the entire game and it just annoys me so much. I wear hats all the time and the only way I can get them to stay in one place like that is to use hair pins. With all the jumping and climbing and fighting, it wouldn’t stay on his head like that. Again, I know it’s a nit-pick but damn, it really frustrated me. Other than that, there were a few bugs during gameplay but I am coming to find there always is. Nothing game-breaking so that’s the main thing.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed by this game. I just didn’t find it that enjoyable. However, it did get better as the game went on. I am still going to finish clearing Seattle as I find collectables the most enjoyable part, but I will save my second playthrough for a later date. Perhaps I will play Infamous First Light first since I bought them in a bundle. Still, this is all part of my attempt to play different types of games, as well as catching up on older games and exclusives. I am pleased I played it and everyone should give it their own shot, especially since it can be picked up so cheap now-a-days. Just remember, if you start this game and feel the way I did, keep going. It gets better once you get more powers and get used to the combat!

Have you played? When did you play and what did you think? Tell me why you loved it.

Review – Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell – PS4

‘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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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Let’s Play – Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4

Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 was my first time recording an open world game. And also probably my last.

As a massive MCU fan I was extremely exited for this game. I pre-ordered and decided I was going to cover the game on my channel. In hindsight, I probably would have been better off just playing it in my own time, but that’s a lesson learned. See.. I am a procrastinator.

Approximately 2 years later I finally completed my play-through. The game really ramped up in the final third. Admittedly, this is not my best series. It does, however, witness my evolution from recording and editing everything on my PS4 console, to getting a proper microphone and capture card, and also upgrading from Microsoft Paint to Gimp for my thumbnails.

Full playlist available on Youtube!

Review – Red Dead Redemption – PS3

Red Dead Redemption is an open world game set in the Wild West. It follows the story of John Marston. His family have been kidnapped and he is on a mission to get them back. Throughout the story we discover new areas, meet lots of new people and learn about John’s past on his quest for redemption.

It took me a long time to get into this game. I am a long time fan of GTA – I love the stories, the characters, the settings, the humour and the freedom – and had heard great things about RDR. The western theme didn’t really do anything for me at first. However, as the game went on I appreciated it more and more and actually grew to like it. Now when my Mam is watching her old western program The High Chaparral I can’t help but smile.

At first, the missions didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. I felt like I was playing for hours, running around doing favors for these characters but still not getting anywhere. It wasn’t drawing me back to play. I did want to know what was going to happen but I ended up taking a break and playing Heavy Rain the whole way through before continuing Red Dead. Once I got further in I started enjoying it a bit more. It still felt like it was a lot of helping people with nothing in return but I started enjoying the journey more. I think by now I had gotten used to the controls a lot more and that helped with the enjoyment. Even though I felt like the story was lacking while I was playing, by the time I got to the end it blew me away. I think I could enjoy playing through a second time just as much, if not more!

The random events seem to be highly praised by fans, and although I do like them, I thought there were too many of them at the beginning. I couldn’t go anywhere without someone stopping me and asking for help when all I wanted to do was explore. Especially when I wasn’t comfortable with the controls, I would either get killed, kill the good guy or just fail. Now I’ve realised that you can just ignore them if you want. Having said that there are some great random things going on around the world, always something to keep you entertained and amused. Hearing background gunfire used to always set me on edge – I think that’s from GTA, usually if someone’s shooting they are shooting at you – but if you look around it’s usually people hunting or robbing people and you do not have to get involved if you don’t want to, and if you do then go for it. Watch out for Cougars though, pesky things!

Now that I have finished the game, I can’t decide whether I prefer this or GTA more, and that’s MASSIVE considering how much I love GTA. I think I love them both for different reasons. I love the fact that in this game you can shoot your gun and not worry about getting a wanted level. One of the things I like least about GTA is escaping the police, I always used to use the cheats. On RDR though, I didn’t have to use cheats once. Although I don’t fully understand it, I prefer the justice system in this game, it’s much more realistic with the witnesses and the bounties. I also liked the regenerating health. I played the first few hours thinking that the dead eye bar was my health and wondering why I was dying with full health but once I realised I soon learned the signs that I was going to die. It’s good for people like me who collect medicine but are too stingy to use it to just get under cover and regain some health.

The structure of the game is very similar to GTA. You have a map that expands as you get further into the game. You have your main story missions, there are usually a couple on the go at the same time and you can choose which you want to do first. You have your side-missions which are the Strangers, similar to GTA 5. You also have Ambient Challenges that include Sharpshooter and Master Hunter, where in GTA you would have the Shooting Range and Flight School. In GTA you had mini games like Bowling and Pool where as in RDR you get Poker and Blackjack. The controls are also very similar in both games, the main difference is you are riding a horse instead of driving a car. It’s a little bit different but once you get used to it it’s quite enjoyable.

Something that I think would have made the game even better would be more loot/more things to do with the loot that you have collected. It would be cool if you could create clothes with animal skins, cook the meat for health, things like that. That would have added another dimension. By the end of the game I realised there wasn’t too much point in searching buildings because all there was was the odd chest with a bit of money in. Another thing I was hoping for was to have a working ranch, where I could go out and break horses then those horses would stay in my field until I sold them etc, making an honest income and running a business. It doesn’t spoil the game that it wasn’t there but it would have been a nice addition and maybe something they can do in the future.

My version of the game was bought second hand and must have had some of the DLC included because I had the War Horse which I think totally enhanced my game. He had great stamina and speed, was quite hardy and the odd time he died I just used the deeds and he came back. I appreciated him very much, there were a couple of times that I accidentally hitched/stole different horses and none of them compared to him. Fantastic Horse.

In conclusion, give it a go! If you like other Rockstar games, give it a go! If you like a good story, give it a go! If you like cowboys, definitely give it a go! If you do give it a go and aren’t keen, keep at it, it might grow on you, it did for me! I know I’m about 5 years late to the party but I’m pleased I made it. I have yet to try online mode, I doubt there will be anyone still playing (but if anyone wants to give me a shout), first I want to get 100% completion then I’m going for platinum. It must have been a good game to put in that effort!

SPOILERS AHEAD – DON’T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE STORY