This week, the Non-Fiction Gaming team seems exclusively focused on all of Sony’s consoles in What We’ve Been playing. PlayStation 3, 4 and Vita are all represented as we discuss RPG dungeon crawlers, hack and slash brawlers and some of Indie gaming’s greatest hits.
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition
Senior Stiv
I’ve played nothing but Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition. When I first played the game when it came out on console it felt a little clumsy and I got bored with the game relatively quickly. This time around the game controls are smoother, looks great on next-gen consoles and is still as addictive as you would expect a Diablo game would be.
I’m currently looking to max out my demon hunter and unlocking adventure mode which allows you to explore the maps of all five acts. I can only imagine what that loot fest is going to be like.
God of War 3
Aidan
This week I’ve been replaying an oldie from my early PS3 days. Once again I’ve taken up the role of the Ghost of Sparta and restarted God of War 3. Given my first playthrough was done taking turns with friends, I missed a lot of the experience first time round.
Now that I’m playing it alone, I am beginning to appreciate the atmosphere and the effort that went into crafting it. Being a fan of mythology, I enjoy the interpretations of Zeus, Poseidon, and other major Olympians. God of War takes fantasy to a dark realm – sort of like the noticeable shift in the ‘Harry Potter’ films by Half-Blood Prince.
As far as gameplay goes, it’s brutal, it’s swift, and it’s satisfying. Crushing hoards of enemies with crushing blows is hilariously fun. Kratos’ special moves / executions could rival Mortal Kombat’s fatalities but, as they’re quick-time events, you don’t get much of an opportunity to appreciate the visuals in between button inputs.
Fez, Proteus & Metal Gear Rising
Wilson Tang
So it’s the last week of my Trimester at College, and I’ve been watching copious amounts of anime and have assignments due, but none submitted. Yet…I have managed to slip some games in that I’ve never tried before.
I picked up Fez and Proteus on the Play Station Vita. Aimlessly wandering and exploring through the tranquil, pixel world of Proteus is a real treat. The sound design is gentle to the ears and it’s also fun to chase rabbits.
Fez however does a great job with the tutorial. Interaction like that, I haven’t seen since I was a kid with some fourth wall breaking stuff right there!
I also managed to play through Metal Gear Rising: Revengence (which isn’t a spelling mistake, but is apparently a word?!). The overall game is entertaining and ridiculous, and the music is absolutely amazing with the best generic screeching guitar back ground music I’ve ever heard.
Song of Saya
KRS 2
I have played a lot of stuff this past fortnight, but I thought I would keep things interesting with a game I’m sure nobody reading has played. Song of Saya is an extremely disturbing visual novel game (think a choose your own adventure book crossed with a manga). I first heard about it on Extra Credits series of ‘games you might not have tried’ and only recently managed to find a copy to play.
The story follows Fuminori, a man who survived a car crash that wrought terrible damage to his brain shortly before the game begins. The injury done to his mind causes his senses to perceive a nightmarish hell-scape of organs and monstrous abominations instead of our mundane world.
Every day that passes sees him lose more his humanity until by the end of the game he has done monstrous and unforgivable things. This is partially motivated by Saya, a girl he met while hospitalised and is the only thing in the whole world he sees as human.
What is amazing is that even after Fuminori has murdered, raped and cannibalized fellow humans (not that he sees them as humans), he is still sympathetic. Obviously you want him to die by the end, but through it all his motivation remains clear to us and you can’t help feel sorry for him and Saya.
If you ever consider playing this, be warned that it is not for the faint of heart and most definitely not for children (perhaps not even for adults either).
That it from us this week! Have you played anything dark and twisted lately? Or have you booted up some awesome older games?
Let us know in the comments!
