As we say goodbye to July, the Summer of games is drawing to a close and we’re getting a clearer picture of what next gen will look like. There should be a few more surprises in store to come, until then, we continue playing games to pass the time. Here’s what we’ve been up to last week.
Control AND The Last of Us Part II
But wait, I envision you are saying, haven’t you already completed TLoUII and moved onto Control, Murr? The short answer is yes. But a more detailed answer is this. I played Control for about, 7ish hours I think? I was enjoying it at times sure, but it was not addictive.
A video-game that draws me in when I start gaming (which tends to be 7pm nowadays) and results in me checking my phone to find its midnight and I really should be sleeping is the sign of a great game. Control, I felt I was looking at the time and asking myself, “Should I put another hour in, just in case it gets better?” I was kind of forcing myself to play longer stints, more so to ensure I completed it as I don’t like leaving games unfinished.
Sadly I hit a part in Control, that I couldn’t pass. Normally this wouldn’t phase me. I would persevere and play past it and strive to complete the game. The caveat with Control is that when you die, you lose points that you’ve built up that are required for ability upgrades or item upgrades. Prior to the area I became stuck on I was sat at a cool 27,000 something points. After continuous punishment of this particular area (which for the record, guides on YouTube made look ridiculously easy and have made me question my gaming ability), I’m down to 9000 points.
I got worried about this possibly resulting in me being under skilled for future areas. So…. I quit. Simple. I wasn’t having fun. The worry that I was slowly depleting my skill points and jeopardising the experience I’d have later in the game caused me to call it quits. I wouldn’t say it was rage quit, but there were choice words.
Now, with no Ghost of Tsushima till the end of August, I could have dived into my back catalogue again. Heck Medievil is installed on my PS4 waiting for me. But the allure of TLoUII trophy list pulled me in. For a Naughty Dog game, it’s one heck of a simple trophy list and platinum trophy.
I started by replaying levels to attain collectables I’d missed prior, then it struck that to get some particular trophies in which skill trees and weapon upgrades needed maxing, I’d need to do a New Game+ anyway, so this is what I’ve done.
I’m currently on the TV Network station section of Seattle Day one in my NewGame+ save of the game. I also fudged my audio settings on my headphones and it’s a revelation as to how much more I can hear from the game, in that it’s a different game alltogether for me now. I’m hearing dialect I missed first time round as well as enemy movement more. It’s brilliant. So I’m happily moving forward in the game again, at a quicker pace than the first play through, and also following a collectables guide to ensure I sweep everything up.
It’s just as amazing as it was 2 weeks ago when I finished it, and as said, the audio setting configuration has made it more enjoyable again. Hearing things I couldn’t decipher on the initial play-through is great.
– Murr
Temtem
Temtem received a fairly sizable update last week adding in a whole new island – Kisiwa, new Temtem and some other bits and bobs. Since I hadn’t played it for a while I figured it was as good a time as any to jump back in. I previously paused playing because I was struggling with the Mokupuni Dojo. My Temtem were a little under-leveled and I was getting wrecked. As a result, I spent a little time doing some leveling and clearing up random quests. When I finally took on Rawiri again, I managed to beat him after a couple of tries.
This opened the flood gates for a load more content to dive in to. Since beating him I’ve doubled my playtime to just over 30 hours. The 2nd island has been completed and I’m now nearing making my way to Kisiwa.
Honestly, I wasn’t actually expecting to get so hooked on it again, but I’ve basically played nothing else since the update. Considering I’ve now put in 30 hours and haven’t finished what’s available of the story so far I’m impressed. Furthermore, I’ve not tried any of the end game content on offer. Or done any kind of grind for breeding the best Temtem.
-Will
