gaming

Lara Croft & The Mayan Jungle Adventure!

September 15, 2018 Design General

I was pretty excited to grab my copy of the ‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider’ (SOTR) this week, and a good 2 days before the official launch since I preordered. It also happens to be my first PS4 steelbook case title. The ‘Croft Steelbook Edition’ is a limited edition title that includes a Season Pass, 3 additional weapons & outfits, original game soundtrack, and 3 Art Cards which are basically artworks of Lara Croft in action. Besides everything, I was drawn towards the ‘Season Pass’ which was a deal breaker for me in the sense it gave me more side missions to play apart from the main story; I’m told, there are 7 Challenge Tombs, each with new narrative side missions, as well as 7 Weapons, 7 Outfits, and 7 Skills available with the DLC ‘Season Pass’. Let me also say this, that it’s a gorgeous design of the steelbook case inside and it feels like I’m holding an ancient document.

I am looking forward to diving into SOTR after experiencing the storyline in the cult prequels of the ‘Tomb Raider – Definitive Edition’ and the ‘Rise of the Tomb Raider – 20 Year Celebration’ both with out-of-world gaming and storytelling. Effectively I’m completing a trilogy, and until I play the entire SOTR I’m not sure if this would be the final episode with Lara Croft and her tryst with destiny — it’d be really tragic after Naughty Dog wiped clean Nathan Drake’s existence from the ‘Uncharted’ series (another of my favourite franchises), but keeping fingers crossed for Lara’s upcoming adventures.

For the time being though, I will bask in the glory of discovering & collecting numerous ancient relics & documents (called ‘collectibles’) and completing the challenges, then beat the extraordinary tomb puzzles and fight the battle-hardened forces of the evil Trinity forces but this time in the deep jungles of South & Central America laced with awesome environments and screenplay. I may detest the end of Lara Croft’s exhilarating adventures just as I did with Nathan Drake, but not so soon.

Burnout Paradise Coming to PS4

February 21, 2018 Happenings

I was pleasantly taken aback at this sudden announcement on the Playstation Blog about EA bringing the Burnout Paradise Remastered version for the PS4 on March 16th. For those who haven’t yet had a chance to experience its dynamic gameplay, this game was light years ahead of its competition at the time with its open world racing environment and game physics. The first time that I came to know of Burnout was on a PS2 at a friend’s place. More than anything, I was blown away by the car crash sequences, the gripping slo-mo of the the vehicles in a head-on collision as the controller provided a vibrating feedback until the wagons came to a complete standstill in a ‘wrecked’ condition. The physics engine was doing a tremendous job at simulating a catastrophic event.

Burnout Paradise - Crash Sequence

Needless to say, when I got my PS3 in 2011 Burnout Paradise was one of the first titles I bought on the PlayStation Store and I still play it occassionally. What I love about the game is that I don’t have to participate in the competitive events, there are a bunch of them btw, I can play the game at my own pace, much like Driveclub, or just drive aimlessly exploring the corners of ‘Paradise City’ in a variety of automobiles until my knuckles hurt. EA bought its maker Criterion Games and I never saw another release — I believe they integrated its awesome game physics in the subsequent NFS titles.

To be very honest, a series like Burnout deserved a reboot on the PS4 though a remastered version would suffice in its absence and I am looking forward to experiencing the fun again. And hey Sony, if you are so inclined on remasters for the PS4 mind having a look at the MotorStorm series?

Giving up on ‘InFamous: Second Son’!

December 15, 2017 General

Being a gamer and someone who takes his challenges much seriously, it’s particularly harder for me to accept that I am giving up on ‘InFamous: Second Son‘. This is a great game, the greatest exclusive perhaps on the PS4 made by Sucker Punch, and I am sad not only because I wasn’t able to beat the ‘He Who Dwells’ boss fight, but I would be left deprived of the most amazing game experiences just for not beating this boss fight. It hurts. But I tried my best – I watched videos and read tips online, and concluded that I am not ready yet to jump platforms over lava AND engage with multiple targets at the same time. The last time I faced such a difficult challenge in a boss fight was with Kessler in ‘InFamous’ on PS3 and I quit after like spending months trying to beat him. Thankfully, that fight was the last boss fight of the game and I had played the game mostly. Maybe I will return to Second Son in the distant future, but for now, I am giving it complete rest because I need some rest too.

3 Things I Disliked About ‘Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’

October 22, 2017 Design Technology

As of my previous writing, I’m into my third play of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (UTLL) and I feel pretty exhausted already. On repeated play throughs I have concluded that there are several aspects about the game which I dislike, and which I believe could have been handled appropriately. Having said that I strongly believe that there’s future for Uncharted beyond Nathan Drake although I’m still perplexed about the unwarranted compulsions behind bidding the character of Nathan Drake (and perhaps Scully), a ceremonious adieu in Uncharted 4.

Eventually with UTLL I felt the gaming experience was below par with the rest of the Uncharted series but there were 3 things in particular which I disliked the most.

Continue reading…

Uncharted - The Lost Legacy - Title Screen

‘Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’ is a Breathtaking Experience!

September 29, 2017 Design General Photos Technology

I’m almost through playing ‘Uncharted – The Lost Legacy’ (UTLL), and like my previous experience with Uncharted 4 I’m not just glued to the engrossing gameplay but also the breathtaking open world landscape! The level of details from India in UTLL are just fascinating – whether it’s the soaking wet landscape of the Western Ghats region, the Hoysala architecture and the mythical stories of Hindu Gods and the INSAS rifles used by the Indian military. Talking of weapons, my favourite of course is the very rare Silenced Gun for obvious reasons!

I don’t miss Nathan Drake, who made his final appearance in Uncharted 4, since the gameplay carries forward his legacy through Chloe! And there’s always the treasure hunting which keeps me busy. Just hoping that Naughty Dog would feature Chloe in a more elaborate story setting in their next Uncharted game.

Without giving away too much, I found one level annoying (and a potential reason for my nausea) with ups and downs on the the rugged terrain in a vehicle hoping to find treasures & tokens, and solving puzzles (tip: go for the ‘Queen’s Ruby’!). That, and the picking of the crates which becomes more challenging as the game progresses. But still, looking forward to the rest of the game and the climax! Enjoy the breathtaking screen grabs from my gameplay in the meantime.