Being able to play outside, in the garden, when the sun is high and the temperature is hot, with a frozen beer at my side, always intrigued me.
First reason is that this way I can enjoy a bit of the "outside" people always talk about, leaving my Hobbit Hole for some time.
Second reason are my dogs, who can enjoy the garden more than they usually do, while I can still devote myself to my favorite hobby.
So, during this sunny week end, I brought out the "solution" described in my previous post "PS4 and PlaystationTV marry Power Line Adapters", as shown in the attached photo.
A very long extension cord provided energy to the whole thing, and the remote play on PS4, through the PlaystationTV, worked perfectly, with only some very minor connection drops.
Sunlight is a major issue, because it strongly limit visibility. Still, increasing both game and TV brightness, make the game playable. I'll try to find a solution to this, even if I already know there aren't that many: anti-reflection film for PC and other device can perhaps better the experience, so I'll try out one of them.
The Witcher 3 is a great game for remote play, as it doesn't need an incredible precision in controls: differently from Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, I found the play experience to be almost like I was playing directly on PS4.
Speaking of this, this title is very attractive, big, and masterfully directed. Still, I must admit it has a bunch of things I strongly dislike:
- Controls: Let's face it, the "action" side of this game is pretty sick. Controls, movements, attacks and the like are clumsy, woody and inaccurate at best. CD Projekt RED clearly haven't improved this side of their development skill, as both The Witcher 1 and 2 had the same problem!
- Fast Travel: I think the sign posts system is a bit annoying; being forced to reach one of them to use the fast travel is just a waste of time. The ability to open up world map and directly select a destination sign post would, imho, improve exploration.
- Food: Food heals so few it hurts, and you're forced to bring tons of them with you, if you want to rely on it. I strongly dislike this (going around with 50 meat chunks, 60 hives etc etc just sound wrong to me). I think it would be better to have the food heal more, perhaps over longer times, in order to limit the carriage. I understand the developers want perhaps to force the player into using alchemy, but still food works bad for my taste.
- Quick Items Slots: Dunnow if later in the game you gain more, but the two item slot I can use so far is a bit limited. 2 potions or 2 kind of food (or a mix of the two) is not very much. Something like four slot would be probably more enjoyable.
The game is still a precious gem, and one of the best titles for PS4 so far, but my vote for it is around 8/10, perhaps 8.5/10, mostly because it's pure gameplay aspect is definitely clunky.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Valhalla Knights 3: Skill Master List!
A couple of weeks ago, Valhalla Knights 3 was on discount on PlayStation Store, for the great price of €4,99 (A joke). Even if I knew this is not the best game ever, I decided to buy it, as the price was luring enough. And now I'm here, playing it here and there on my PSVita.
As a niche game, it is not easy to find english help for this title, apart from something on http://www.gamefaqs.com/ boards. There is much more material in japanese, where the game met more interest.
This is why I decided to create a post here and there about this game, with interesting info I'm struggling to find on the internet.
By the way, I'm liking this title alot, to be honest, as a relaxed game to carry around; moreover it's great on PlaystationTV, too. Pity for the loading times, that are quite annoying.
So, first post is a list of all Skill Master available for this game; Skill Master are "secret" skills that unlocks for a character when you learn all the skills of a specific profession.
Prisoner
SBP Needed: 4590.
Name: Prisoner 25601.
Effect: Make it possible to equip every weapon (except firearms).
Fighter
SBP Needed: 3760.
Name: Challenger.
Effect: Increase HP+500 and P. DEF+100.
Mage
SBP Needed: 3150.
Name: Great Magician.
Effect: Increase SP+500 and M. ATK+100.
Priest
SBP Needed: 2500.
Name: Holy Servant.
Effect: Increase SP+500 and M. DEF+100.
Thief
SBP Needed: 2230.
Name: Thief King.
Effect: Increase HP+1000 and SP+500.
Akatoki
SBP Needed: 4135.
Name: Unleashed.
Effect: Increase HP+500 and STRK+100.
Archer
SBP Needed: 3265.
Name: Sharpshooter.
Effect: Increase HP+500 and SHOT+100.
Soldier
SBP Needed: 3185.
Name: Mercenary.
Effect: Increase P. DEF+150.
Samurai
SBP Needed: 3850
Name: Swordsman.
Effect: Increase HP+1500.
Ninja
SBP Needed: 1645.
Name: Shinobi.
Effect: Increase SP+1500.
Shaman
SBP Needed: 3450.
Name: Archmage.
Effect: Increase M. ATK+150.
Merchant
SBP Needed: 3920.
Name: Great Fortune.
Effect: Receives 15% discount on all items at the item shops.
Amazon
SBP Needed: 1410.
Name: Warrior Queen.
Effect: Increase SHOT+150.
Automaton
SBP Needed: ???.
Name: Ultimate Gizmo.
Effect: Increase all stats.
Bunny Girl
SP Needed: 1950.
Name: Paramour.
Effect: Uses love to get bonuses.
I hope the SBP Needed voice is correct. All these info are based on what I found over the Net AND from personal experience.
I'm going to build a collection of game maps, and place them in another post like this!
Good game everyone!
As a niche game, it is not easy to find english help for this title, apart from something on http://www.gamefaqs.com/ boards. There is much more material in japanese, where the game met more interest.
This is why I decided to create a post here and there about this game, with interesting info I'm struggling to find on the internet.
By the way, I'm liking this title alot, to be honest, as a relaxed game to carry around; moreover it's great on PlaystationTV, too. Pity for the loading times, that are quite annoying.
So, first post is a list of all Skill Master available for this game; Skill Master are "secret" skills that unlocks for a character when you learn all the skills of a specific profession.
Prisoner
SBP Needed: 4590.
Name: Prisoner 25601.
Effect: Make it possible to equip every weapon (except firearms).
Fighter
SBP Needed: 3760.
Name: Challenger.
Effect: Increase HP+500 and P. DEF+100.
Mage
SBP Needed: 3150.
Name: Great Magician.
Effect: Increase SP+500 and M. ATK+100.
Priest
SBP Needed: 2500.
Name: Holy Servant.
Effect: Increase SP+500 and M. DEF+100.
Thief
SBP Needed: 2230.
Name: Thief King.
Effect: Increase HP+1000 and SP+500.
Akatoki
SBP Needed: 4135.
Name: Unleashed.
Effect: Increase HP+500 and STRK+100.
Archer
SBP Needed: 3265.
Name: Sharpshooter.
Effect: Increase HP+500 and SHOT+100.
Soldier
SBP Needed: 3185.
Name: Mercenary.
Effect: Increase P. DEF+150.
Samurai
SBP Needed: 3850
Name: Swordsman.
Effect: Increase HP+1500.
Ninja
SBP Needed: 1645.
Name: Shinobi.
Effect: Increase SP+1500.
Shaman
SBP Needed: 3450.
Name: Archmage.
Effect: Increase M. ATK+150.
Merchant
SBP Needed: 3920.
Name: Great Fortune.
Effect: Receives 15% discount on all items at the item shops.
Amazon
SBP Needed: 1410.
Name: Warrior Queen.
Effect: Increase SHOT+150.
Automaton
SBP Needed: ???.
Name: Ultimate Gizmo.
Effect: Increase all stats.
Bunny Girl
SP Needed: 1950.
Name: Paramour.
Effect: Uses love to get bonuses.
I hope the SBP Needed voice is correct. All these info are based on what I found over the Net AND from personal experience.
I'm going to build a collection of game maps, and place them in another post like this!
Good game everyone!
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - Platinum n° 52
- Game: 8/10
- Fun: 8/10
- Platinum: 4/10
This game is a well rounded single-player FPS with a good price, nice graphics, ok-but-not-striking story, great and various gameplay and fun B.J. Blazkowicz moments, especially if you're a Wolfenstein's serie fan since it's first episode in far 1992 ;) .
The game is fun even at highest difficulty, as it's not so unforgiving if you're an FPS veteran; Moreover, if you adopt a stealth approach, you can skip alot of fights. Sure there are some quite hard fights, but nothing insurmountable.
Platinum is fast to gain and quite easy. As mentioned the game itself is not that hard, and most trophies just come naturally or just need a bit of farming. Challenges are the true hard part, but after some tries you should be able to get the grip on them. As a general advice, remember that enemies can't clim ladders (not stairs: ladders): exploiting this AI limit can easy up your life alot, trust me ;).
It took me around 14 hours to plat this game, without using any kind of guide and playing it at maximum difficulty on first run.
If you don't apply last patches, there even is a glitch that allows you to play all the game on "Can I play Daddy" difficulty and just replay last chapter in "I Am the Death Incarnate" to gain ALL difficulty based trophies (Hero, Super Hero, Uber Hero).
The game is quite easy to platinum without using guides and such, but if you need any help, here is a good forum where you can find it: http://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/wolfenstein-the-old-blood/.
I started The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt two days ago; I already checked the trophies list, and I don't think I'll go for the platinum for this title, but I'll play it deeply for sure, as it seems huge, fun, addictive and very well polished, even if the action side of the title (read: combat), is ok but not great at all. Still, game's direction is wonderful.
P.S.: The digital version of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood has been released on 5/5/2015, which is the 23rd birthday date of Wolfenstein 3D.
Saturday, 23 May 2015
PS4 and PlaystationTV marry Power Line Adapters
This week I decided to buy PlaystationTV, mostly because I was tempted by the possibility to play PSVita titles on the big screen. As soon as the small but powerful console was delivered, I attached it to my 42" plasma, realising that the TV was way too big for the PSVita games, as the graphics really appeared awkward and heavily pixeled.
Not that great problem, to be honest, as graphics is not the most important part of most the titles I play on the PSVita, but still it was a bit unsatisfying.
So, in a rush of impulse, I decided to change the initial purpose of the PlaystationTV i buyed, transforming it in a secondary gaming location, basically installed on the bedroom, but easily movable to every place of the house I like.
Now, the main problem was the router and the Wi-Fi range: my main "gaming" room is located in the basemend (really fresh during the hottest months of the year), with all my books, comics, action figures etc. etc., and with the router too, which is located very near to PS4, PC etc. The signal of my little guy has proved to be pretty strong, even if basement's walls are thick and heavy, but not enough to provide a stable and powerful enough connection for the remote play.
I considered various solutions for this problem, such as moving the router or buying Range Extenders, but the first did not work very well, and I was not very sure about the latter (i'm pretty new to all this stuff).
I turned to a local computer shop for an help, and the guy suggested me to try out Power Line Adapter, an ingenious invention that throw your internet signal on the electric wires, allowing it to reach places quite far from the router, as long as the target electric socket is under the same switch of the one where the router's Power Line is attached to. This kind of technology is pretty old, in truth, but today's devices are much more reliable and powerful than the old ones. This is perhaps the best way to extend internet coverage in your house, even if it is not free from issues; the one I was more afraid of was that it's suggested to attach the Power Line adapter directly to an electric socket (i.e.: not to a power strip), in order to avoid interferences from other devices on the same socket: doing this was pretty impossible for me as sockets in the house are all single.
But the issue proved to be inexistent: after installing the Power Line adapters (an incredibly simple process), I turned up the PlaystationTV, eager to see the results, and they were amazing: remote play work very well with both streaming options set to "High", even if the PS4 is still under Wi-Fi connection. Sure, the game is not as smooth as if it is played on the original console (the gameplay feels somehow "gummy", if you get what I mean), but it still works excellently. I'm trying the remote play with Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and it's very playable, even if you lack a bit of precision and finesse in controls; with a different genre of game, the results can perhaps be better, as FPSs in general require a greater degree of precisione compared to other kinds.
To complete my new gaming location, I buyed a relatively economic Telefunken TV: 24" and HD Ready are enough to take advantage of PlaystationTV. I meant to spend even fewer euros on it, but this one was the less expensive I founded at the local store.
So, in the end, here is what this "whim" costed:
- PlaystationTV (discounted): €59,99;
- Controller Dualshock 4 (discounted): €59,99;
- Telefunken Tv Led 24"' Te24275B31T10E: €168,00;
- AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit (TL-PA4010KIT): €65,00
Total: €352,98
Not an inexpensive solution, but hey, still less than buying another PS4 + another TV!
Next step will be to try bringing all this outside, in the garden. The sun's reflexes will probably make it impossible to see the TV screen well enough to play, but I want to give it a try, as playing outside, during spring/summer, would be fantastic.
Oh, ok, I'm an extreme Gamer, I know! As always: good game everyone.
Not that great problem, to be honest, as graphics is not the most important part of most the titles I play on the PSVita, but still it was a bit unsatisfying.
So, in a rush of impulse, I decided to change the initial purpose of the PlaystationTV i buyed, transforming it in a secondary gaming location, basically installed on the bedroom, but easily movable to every place of the house I like.
Now, the main problem was the router and the Wi-Fi range: my main "gaming" room is located in the basemend (really fresh during the hottest months of the year), with all my books, comics, action figures etc. etc., and with the router too, which is located very near to PS4, PC etc. The signal of my little guy has proved to be pretty strong, even if basement's walls are thick and heavy, but not enough to provide a stable and powerful enough connection for the remote play.
I considered various solutions for this problem, such as moving the router or buying Range Extenders, but the first did not work very well, and I was not very sure about the latter (i'm pretty new to all this stuff).
I turned to a local computer shop for an help, and the guy suggested me to try out Power Line Adapter, an ingenious invention that throw your internet signal on the electric wires, allowing it to reach places quite far from the router, as long as the target electric socket is under the same switch of the one where the router's Power Line is attached to. This kind of technology is pretty old, in truth, but today's devices are much more reliable and powerful than the old ones. This is perhaps the best way to extend internet coverage in your house, even if it is not free from issues; the one I was more afraid of was that it's suggested to attach the Power Line adapter directly to an electric socket (i.e.: not to a power strip), in order to avoid interferences from other devices on the same socket: doing this was pretty impossible for me as sockets in the house are all single.
But the issue proved to be inexistent: after installing the Power Line adapters (an incredibly simple process), I turned up the PlaystationTV, eager to see the results, and they were amazing: remote play work very well with both streaming options set to "High", even if the PS4 is still under Wi-Fi connection. Sure, the game is not as smooth as if it is played on the original console (the gameplay feels somehow "gummy", if you get what I mean), but it still works excellently. I'm trying the remote play with Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and it's very playable, even if you lack a bit of precision and finesse in controls; with a different genre of game, the results can perhaps be better, as FPSs in general require a greater degree of precisione compared to other kinds.
To complete my new gaming location, I buyed a relatively economic Telefunken TV: 24" and HD Ready are enough to take advantage of PlaystationTV. I meant to spend even fewer euros on it, but this one was the less expensive I founded at the local store.
So, in the end, here is what this "whim" costed:
- PlaystationTV (discounted): €59,99;
- Controller Dualshock 4 (discounted): €59,99;
- Telefunken Tv Led 24"' Te24275B31T10E: €168,00;
- AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit (TL-PA4010KIT): €65,00
Total: €352,98
Not an inexpensive solution, but hey, still less than buying another PS4 + another TV!
Next step will be to try bringing all this outside, in the garden. The sun's reflexes will probably make it impossible to see the TV screen well enough to play, but I want to give it a try, as playing outside, during spring/summer, would be fantastic.
Oh, ok, I'm an extreme Gamer, I know! As always: good game everyone.
Friday, 8 May 2015
Dark Souls 2: SotFS Platinum!
Ahhh, so, after around 150 hours, I finally earned Dak Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin Platinum!
I haven't rushed this Platinum, as I explored the game very deeply before completing the trophy list, reaching level 709 and gathering around 98% of all the equipment and spells available (I actually miss 11 "objects", between spells, weapons, armor, rings and shields).
It's my plat n° 48. Not that many, but I'm proud of all of them ^_^ .
This one has been a long, but not so difficult, Platinum. The game itself is hard and unforgiving, but once you get the grip of how it works and how you should approach exploration and combat, everything goes much smoother. And you can always farm a bit to make your character more powerful but, most important thing in my opinion, more versatile: being an huber melee fighter with some backup healing spells, the ultra-useful Repair or some ranged magical attack can prove to be quite helpful.
Still it can be difficult to earn this Plat without a guide, as some of the trophyes are tricky to obtain, if you don't know exactly what to do. For this reason, I strongly suggest to have a look at this guide: Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin Trophy Guide and Roadmap, at least to know what you'll be facing.
And now, let's start Final Fantasy Type-0, at least until I don't receive my physical copy of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood *__*!!
I haven't rushed this Platinum, as I explored the game very deeply before completing the trophy list, reaching level 709 and gathering around 98% of all the equipment and spells available (I actually miss 11 "objects", between spells, weapons, armor, rings and shields).
It's my plat n° 48. Not that many, but I'm proud of all of them ^_^ .
This one has been a long, but not so difficult, Platinum. The game itself is hard and unforgiving, but once you get the grip of how it works and how you should approach exploration and combat, everything goes much smoother. And you can always farm a bit to make your character more powerful but, most important thing in my opinion, more versatile: being an huber melee fighter with some backup healing spells, the ultra-useful Repair or some ranged magical attack can prove to be quite helpful.
Still it can be difficult to earn this Plat without a guide, as some of the trophyes are tricky to obtain, if you don't know exactly what to do. For this reason, I strongly suggest to have a look at this guide: Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin Trophy Guide and Roadmap, at least to know what you'll be facing.
And now, let's start Final Fantasy Type-0, at least until I don't receive my physical copy of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood *__*!!
Friday, 24 April 2015
Zanfire on Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin! Warrior, Mage, Cleric and Archer build!
So, it's been a while I'm playing Scholar of the First Sin.
Just after platinating Bloodborne (great game, easy platinum), I decided to give a try to the other "big" FROM Software game available for PS4, which is Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin Edition.
And a new love was born.
The incredible amount of character development choices this game offers really enthralled me, forcing me to play it non-stop from when the disk entered my PS4.
Sure the game is not easy, but it's neither all that hard for someone who, like me, have over 1000 hours of gameplay on Monster Hunter titles on PSP.
After some time farming here and there (I already completed the first gamethrough), gathering all the armors, weapons, rings etc I can, just for sake of collectionism, if not true usefullness, I discovered how to farm Giant Lord boss to build up an INSANELY amount of souls (How to farm Giant Lord; there are minor differences in the SotFS edition, but it still works). Thanks to this, my Zanfire reached his fullness in a couple of days, allowing me to build him as a well-rounded character able to employ various kind of magic and kick ass hard in both melee and ranged fight. This is the kind of character I like most: the "jack-of-all-trades", and I'm quite happy Dark Souls 2 allows me to build one, as it is not an option often available in vRPGs (excluding Elder Scrolls serie, obviusly).
Here is the "generic-purpose" build I'm using at the moment:
Covenant: No Covenant
Starting Class: Bandit (11)
Soul Level: 473
Vigor: 50
Endurance: 83
Vitality: 60
Attunement: 94
Strength: 50
Dexterity: 50
Adaptability: 40
Intelligence: 50
Faith: 50
Head: Hexer's Hood +5
Chest: Havel's Armor +5
Hands: Havel's Gauntlets +5
Legs: Havel's Leggings +5
Left #1: Claymore (dark) +10
Left #2: Hunter's Blackbow (lightning) +10
Right #1: Blossom Kite Shield +5 / King's Shield +5
Right #2: Black Witch's Staff (magic) +10
Ring 1: Chloranthy Ring +2
Ring 2: Third Dragon Ring
Ring 3: Royal Soldier's Ring +2
Ring 4: Open slot (usually Ring of Blades +2, Bracing Knuckle Ring +2, Stone Ring, Southern Ritual Band +2, Covetous Gold Serpent Ring +2 or Covetous Silver Serpent Ring +2)
Spell 1: Dark Weapon
Spell 2: Great Magic Barrier
Spell 3: Great Heal
Spell 4: Great Heal
Spell 5: Great Heavy Soul Arrow
Spell 6: Great Heavy Soul Arrow
Spell 7: Crystal Soul Spear
Spell 8: Crystal Soul Spear
Spell 9: Repair
Spell 10: Open slot
This is surely not the best of builds, but I enjoy being prepared to most situations, especially thanks to the various spells I use (Black Witch's Staff allows you to use Sorceries, Hexes and Miracles; it is not the strongest focus for magic, but it's incredibly versatile).
Even if invaded, the great array of spells and the protection I can count on give me an additional edge to vanquish my human opponent.
My basic weapon is the Claymore, as it has a good damage/attack speed ratio and a great moveset (long lunge is buddah in this game); I own a +10 one for each infusion type! I love the Zweihander, too, even if it's damage output is surpassed by other weapons: it has a great moveset and it's quite light for the damage it offers: thanks to that I can stay under 50% load ("medium") even while wearing 3 pieces of the allmight Havel's Set, which offers an incredible protection. Where I need more poise damage to stagger enemies, Old Knight Greatsword do a great job while maintaining a good attack speed (50 poise damage at calibration 2.01). Backup weapons are mainly Heide Spear +10 (lightning) (amazing spear that helped me along most of the game, thanks to it's long trust attacks!) and +10 (magic) Mastodon Greatsword, a great substitute for the Claymore (more damage, different moveset and much more weight!). Yes, I definitively love Greatswords ^_^.
Hexer's Hood satisfy my need to wear a hood (even if I prefer the Forlon's one, for cosmetic purposes) and enpower the spellcasting side a bit, thanks to the additional spell cast it offers.
As always, good game to everyone.
Just after platinating Bloodborne (great game, easy platinum), I decided to give a try to the other "big" FROM Software game available for PS4, which is Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin Edition.
And a new love was born.
The incredible amount of character development choices this game offers really enthralled me, forcing me to play it non-stop from when the disk entered my PS4.
Sure the game is not easy, but it's neither all that hard for someone who, like me, have over 1000 hours of gameplay on Monster Hunter titles on PSP.
After some time farming here and there (I already completed the first gamethrough), gathering all the armors, weapons, rings etc I can, just for sake of collectionism, if not true usefullness, I discovered how to farm Giant Lord boss to build up an INSANELY amount of souls (How to farm Giant Lord; there are minor differences in the SotFS edition, but it still works). Thanks to this, my Zanfire reached his fullness in a couple of days, allowing me to build him as a well-rounded character able to employ various kind of magic and kick ass hard in both melee and ranged fight. This is the kind of character I like most: the "jack-of-all-trades", and I'm quite happy Dark Souls 2 allows me to build one, as it is not an option often available in vRPGs (excluding Elder Scrolls serie, obviusly).
Here is the "generic-purpose" build I'm using at the moment:
Covenant: No Covenant
Starting Class: Bandit (11)
Soul Level: 473
Vigor: 50
Endurance: 83
Vitality: 60
Attunement: 94
Strength: 50
Dexterity: 50
Adaptability: 40
Intelligence: 50
Faith: 50
Head: Hexer's Hood +5
Chest: Havel's Armor +5
Hands: Havel's Gauntlets +5
Legs: Havel's Leggings +5
Left #1: Claymore (dark) +10
Left #2: Hunter's Blackbow (lightning) +10
Right #1: Blossom Kite Shield +5 / King's Shield +5
Right #2: Black Witch's Staff (magic) +10
Ring 1: Chloranthy Ring +2
Ring 2: Third Dragon Ring
Ring 3: Royal Soldier's Ring +2
Ring 4: Open slot (usually Ring of Blades +2, Bracing Knuckle Ring +2, Stone Ring, Southern Ritual Band +2, Covetous Gold Serpent Ring +2 or Covetous Silver Serpent Ring +2)
Spell 1: Dark Weapon
Spell 2: Great Magic Barrier
Spell 3: Great Heal
Spell 4: Great Heal
Spell 5: Great Heavy Soul Arrow
Spell 6: Great Heavy Soul Arrow
Spell 7: Crystal Soul Spear
Spell 8: Crystal Soul Spear
Spell 9: Repair
Spell 10: Open slot
This is surely not the best of builds, but I enjoy being prepared to most situations, especially thanks to the various spells I use (Black Witch's Staff allows you to use Sorceries, Hexes and Miracles; it is not the strongest focus for magic, but it's incredibly versatile).
Even if invaded, the great array of spells and the protection I can count on give me an additional edge to vanquish my human opponent.
My basic weapon is the Claymore, as it has a good damage/attack speed ratio and a great moveset (long lunge is buddah in this game); I own a +10 one for each infusion type! I love the Zweihander, too, even if it's damage output is surpassed by other weapons: it has a great moveset and it's quite light for the damage it offers: thanks to that I can stay under 50% load ("medium") even while wearing 3 pieces of the allmight Havel's Set, which offers an incredible protection. Where I need more poise damage to stagger enemies, Old Knight Greatsword do a great job while maintaining a good attack speed (50 poise damage at calibration 2.01). Backup weapons are mainly Heide Spear +10 (lightning) (amazing spear that helped me along most of the game, thanks to it's long trust attacks!) and +10 (magic) Mastodon Greatsword, a great substitute for the Claymore (more damage, different moveset and much more weight!). Yes, I definitively love Greatswords ^_^.
Hexer's Hood satisfy my need to wear a hood (even if I prefer the Forlon's one, for cosmetic purposes) and enpower the spellcasting side a bit, thanks to the additional spell cast it offers.
As always, good game to everyone.
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Blooddborne farming - Blood Echoes farming - 11000 every 2 minutes - Lecture Building
So, Bloodborne is out, and I'm very engaged by the title. It proved to be a neat challenge and a fun game, with a great, if hard, gameplay and a beautiful setting. I love demon/monster hunting, after all :) .
Among the various tips and advices you can give/find about this game, I learned that one of the most important is to level up your character. I was quite lucky in finding an incredible Blood Echoes farming location early in the game, and this made a big portion of Bloodborne incredibly easy after just an hour or so of farming. So I'm here to share this trick with you. As mentioned, the best about this farming spot is that you can reach it very soon: Just after you defeat Vicar Amelia (she can be your 3rd boss, after Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne) you can travel to the Forbidden Woods, which is the first step to discover the Lecture Building. I don't exactly remember when and how I reached the location, as it was mostly a matter of luck and risk, but I made my best to rebuild the steps to get there, and here they are:
Step 1) Go to Forbidden Woods and follow the path of the bridge (beware the trap), until you reach a group of enemies near a campfire. Kill or rush beyond them and go left, following the path throught a flowered camp with a ruined house to its right (with an enemy inside it). Go ahead and pass a low gate that bring you to a big group of houses, like a small town. You should reach another house with a red lantern and some cages near it (with caged or free dogs, depending on how deep are you in the game). Speak to the person inside and you'll receive an item you need to reach the Lecture Building (Beast's Roar?).
Step 2) Go to the Grand Cathedral lamp and exit down the first ramp of stairs. Looking at the Grand Cathedral entrance, follow the right path, which bring you to an area where you need to fight (or avoid) two hunters (one of them wield a Tonitrus). From there, the path continue down (there are other enemies along the road: kill or avoid them), to a large area with a couple of big guys and an edifice at it's end. Inside the edifice there is a giant monster hanging from the cieling (the monster is incorporeal until you reach a given point of the story), and a door (closed in the beginning of the game: it will automatically open as you progress into the story). When you try to open the door (or if you pass through it while it's open), a warp/portal-like effect will appear: you must do your best to get caught by that distortion. The creature will take you in it's hand, squeeze you, give you Frenzy and say something, before throwing you to the Lecture Building (it will kill you, if you don't have the item recovered from the Forbidden Woods; note that you are automatically teleported in the above mentioned area after you kill Rom, The Vacuous Spider).
Step 3) Activate the lantern and clear all this floor by opening all the door and exploring all of it's parts. When you're done, you can go back to the Hunter's Dream and start farming the location shown in the video (see below), for a neat amount of 702 x 16 Blood Echoes each run (which takes 2-3 minutes). One of the best things is that the load time for this location is pretty short, as it is small!
Here follow a couple of videos that explains both how to reach the location and how to farm it:
Video 1 - How to reach Lecture Building: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRpandCc3Bs (exactly at 4:48, the guy reach the Lecture Building lamp)
Video 2 - How to farm Lecture Building: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icj6T9Ez0A0
Hope this can help some of you in not succumbing to frustration for such a demanding title ;).
Good hunt, out there.
Among the various tips and advices you can give/find about this game, I learned that one of the most important is to level up your character. I was quite lucky in finding an incredible Blood Echoes farming location early in the game, and this made a big portion of Bloodborne incredibly easy after just an hour or so of farming. So I'm here to share this trick with you. As mentioned, the best about this farming spot is that you can reach it very soon: Just after you defeat Vicar Amelia (she can be your 3rd boss, after Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne) you can travel to the Forbidden Woods, which is the first step to discover the Lecture Building. I don't exactly remember when and how I reached the location, as it was mostly a matter of luck and risk, but I made my best to rebuild the steps to get there, and here they are:
Step 1) Go to Forbidden Woods and follow the path of the bridge (beware the trap), until you reach a group of enemies near a campfire. Kill or rush beyond them and go left, following the path throught a flowered camp with a ruined house to its right (with an enemy inside it). Go ahead and pass a low gate that bring you to a big group of houses, like a small town. You should reach another house with a red lantern and some cages near it (with caged or free dogs, depending on how deep are you in the game). Speak to the person inside and you'll receive an item you need to reach the Lecture Building (Beast's Roar?).
Step 2) Go to the Grand Cathedral lamp and exit down the first ramp of stairs. Looking at the Grand Cathedral entrance, follow the right path, which bring you to an area where you need to fight (or avoid) two hunters (one of them wield a Tonitrus). From there, the path continue down (there are other enemies along the road: kill or avoid them), to a large area with a couple of big guys and an edifice at it's end. Inside the edifice there is a giant monster hanging from the cieling (the monster is incorporeal until you reach a given point of the story), and a door (closed in the beginning of the game: it will automatically open as you progress into the story). When you try to open the door (or if you pass through it while it's open), a warp/portal-like effect will appear: you must do your best to get caught by that distortion. The creature will take you in it's hand, squeeze you, give you Frenzy and say something, before throwing you to the Lecture Building (it will kill you, if you don't have the item recovered from the Forbidden Woods; note that you are automatically teleported in the above mentioned area after you kill Rom, The Vacuous Spider).
Step 3) Activate the lantern and clear all this floor by opening all the door and exploring all of it's parts. When you're done, you can go back to the Hunter's Dream and start farming the location shown in the video (see below), for a neat amount of 702 x 16 Blood Echoes each run (which takes 2-3 minutes). One of the best things is that the load time for this location is pretty short, as it is small!
Here follow a couple of videos that explains both how to reach the location and how to farm it:
Video 1 - How to reach Lecture Building: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRpandCc3Bs (exactly at 4:48, the guy reach the Lecture Building lamp)
Video 2 - How to farm Lecture Building: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icj6T9Ez0A0
Hope this can help some of you in not succumbing to frustration for such a demanding title ;).
Good hunt, out there.
Thursday, 26 February 2015
The Order 1886: My Two Cents (Ita)
Ci sono molte recensioni di questo gioco in giro per la rete. Nel complesso viene, fortunatamente, acclamato, ma tutti sono concordi sul constatare che si tratta di un prodotto controverso, cui sembra mancare qualcosa.
Nonostante a me sia piaciuto molto, e sia più che soddisfatto di averlo preso al dayOne, ho deciso di fare una review più oggettiva possibile, sperando di aiutare tutti quei giocatori indecisi se acquistarlo fin da ora, a prezzo pieno, o se aspettare più avanti.
- Presentazione (grafica/sonoro/storia/ambientazione): L' aspetto immersivo di The Order è sicuramente il suo punto di forza. L' impatto grafico è notevole e dimostra una cura eccelsa, presentando una Londra vivida sia nelle ambientazioni, sempre diverse tra loro e che non fanno sentire quel fattore "ripetitività" tipico di altri giochi (sempre le stesse riviste in giro per il gioco, sempre le stesse bottiglie, gli stessi poster/quadri etc), sia negli effetti di luce e nelle animazioni, fluide e realistiche a parte qualche rarissimo caso. Il dettaglio dei personaggi è eccelso, come sono ottime anche le animazioni facciali, mai facili da rendere. Pixellizazione a distanza ravvicinata pressochè nulla. Piccolo neo sulla varietà dei visi dei nemici, dato che sembra di combattere sempre contro gli stessi tre ribelli, ma è un dettaglio trascurabile, che si nota quasi solamente combattendo a distanza molto ravvicinata. Musiche ed effetti sonori, pur non lasciando a bocca aperta come invece può succedere per il reparto visivo, sono altrettanto curati e si fondono bene col complesso narrativo, creando un' esperienza audio/visiva degna di uno splendido film. La scelta delle barre nere che modificano la risoluzione base del gioco può risultare fastidiosa, anche se ci si abitua piuttosto in fretta. Se le avessero tolte nelle fasi azione avrebbero spezzato lo standard visivo, quindi, alla fine, è probabilmente stata la scelta migliore mantenerle per tutto il gioco. La storia è ovviamente legata al gusto personale del giocatore, ma, seppure possa risultare un po' scontata per i veterani della fiction in generale, è ben curata e la narrazione si svolge in modo superbo, con un' ottima regia; non darò info aggiuntive su questo aspetto per ovvi motivi di spoiler :).
Voto 9
- Giocabilità: La giocabilità non è sicuramente il lato più eclatante di questo TPS (ThirdPersonShooter). Non presenta infatti grandi novità; anzi, per certi versi sembra aver fatto alcuni passi indietro rispetto agli standard moderni. L' interattività con l' ambiente è molto limitata, ed il gioco è piuttosto ferreo su dove/come ci si può muovere in giro per le varie sezioni; non ci sono capriole o salti, il corpo a corpo gestito come QTE (QuickTimeEvent) risulta un po' goffo (nemico su livello diverso non sempre può essere attaccato in mischia, ad esempio, anche se è poco più in alto del giocatore) e limitante, ed in tutte le parti che non siano di pura azione, la mobilità è altrettanto bloccata. In ogni caso, in quel "poco" che fa, il gioco riesce bene: il sistema di coperture è ottimale e non mi ha mai creato fastidi (come invece mi è successo per altri titoli), permettendo un passaggio disinvolto dai ripari al campo aperto; le meccaniche di sparo funzionano a dovere sia come precisione e fluidità che come resa (anche se a volte ho avuto l' impressione che sparare ad un nemico sbilanciato da un primo colpo risultasse inefficace); i mini giochi legati alla fase esplorativa sono semplici, rapidi e, nel complesso, abbastanza divertenti da non risultare fastidiosi o pesanti. La ricerca dei collezionabili è un' attività piacevole e non troppo complicata, aiutata dall' indicatore dell' oggetto, piuttosto evidente (personalmente ne ho persi solamente 2 nel primo walkthrough), anche se l' assenza di un sistema di tracciamento degli stessi rende poco pratica la raccolta in fasi successive (molto simpatiche le citazioni legate a questo aspetto di gioco). Nel complesso si ha un po' la sensazione di essere legati ed obbligati a giocare il titolo come vogliono i programmatori: se ciò aiuta, da un lato, l' immersione nell' ambientazione (non poter correre quando non sembra appropriato, ad esempio), dall' altro potrebbe dare la sensazione di essere troppo pilotati a quei giocatori che preferiscono una maggior libertà di azione.
Voto 6
- Longevità: Questo è sicuramente il punto dove The Order 1886 pecca maggiormente. Un titolo dal prezzo standard di €69,99 che offre, nel complesso, un' esperienza di gioco che occupa circa una settimana, può far storcere il naso a molti acquirenti. Io ho impiegato circa 15 ore a completare il titolo, giocando con calma a difficoltà normale, cercando i collezionabili senza guida e mirando a fare più trofei possibile, ottenendo anche il Platino, che ha una difficoltà di conquista davvero irrisoria. Si tratta quindi di un tipico titolo "filmone", come li definisco io, da giocarsi una volta godendoselo a livello visivo e di narrazione, per poi riporlo nella propria collezione, fino all' uscita dell' eventuale capitolo successivo. Non credo si senta la mancanza di un MultiPlayer, se non forse una qualche forma di cooperativo, dato che il gioco è chiaramente più orientato alla ricchezza della storia che racconta, piuttosto che all' aspetto competitivo. Questo aspetto del gioco, come già detto, è una questione molto personale, nel senso che ad alcuni giocatori può non interessare la durata quando c' è la qualità in altri aspetti, mentre altri preferiscono titoli che possano occupare mesi e mesi del loro tempo. The Order 1886 non è sicuramente adatto a questi ultimi, a meno che non vogliano provare un' esperienza diversa. Il voto oggettivo non può però che essere orientato verso il basso, data l' innegabile cortezza di ogni aspetto del gioco.
Voto 5
La mia sensazione è che questo titolo sia un po' un campo di prova sperimentale per un team di programmatori abituati ad altro. E' come se in alcuni aspetti si fossero volutamente trattenuti e limitati, come a tastare il terreno. Speriamo che nei seguiti (perchè ce ne saranno, se le vendite non risultano troppo scarse) decidano di osare di più, ampliando l' esperienza di gioco dal punto di vista puramente ludico, dato che sul piano narrativo han già ottenuto un gran risultato.
Nel complesso The Order 1886 E' un bel prodotto, ma inadatto a tutti i palati e sicuramente più orientato a quei giocatori che amano la fiction, piuttosto che l' azione e l' open world: se ami leggere libri, fumetti, guardare film e simili, The Order è il titolo per te e vale i soldi che ci spenderai. Se invece sei più per passare ore ed ore a cercare e completare missioni secondarie o raccogliere dozzine e dozzine di collezionabili per sbloccare questo o quell' extra, forse è meglio se ci rifletti un attimo prima di acquistarlo, o che aspetti di trovarlo usato, ad un prezzo più adatto alle poche ore di svago che offre.
Come sempre, Just My Two Cents.
Nonostante a me sia piaciuto molto, e sia più che soddisfatto di averlo preso al dayOne, ho deciso di fare una review più oggettiva possibile, sperando di aiutare tutti quei giocatori indecisi se acquistarlo fin da ora, a prezzo pieno, o se aspettare più avanti.
- Presentazione (grafica/sonoro/storia/ambientazione): L' aspetto immersivo di The Order è sicuramente il suo punto di forza. L' impatto grafico è notevole e dimostra una cura eccelsa, presentando una Londra vivida sia nelle ambientazioni, sempre diverse tra loro e che non fanno sentire quel fattore "ripetitività" tipico di altri giochi (sempre le stesse riviste in giro per il gioco, sempre le stesse bottiglie, gli stessi poster/quadri etc), sia negli effetti di luce e nelle animazioni, fluide e realistiche a parte qualche rarissimo caso. Il dettaglio dei personaggi è eccelso, come sono ottime anche le animazioni facciali, mai facili da rendere. Pixellizazione a distanza ravvicinata pressochè nulla. Piccolo neo sulla varietà dei visi dei nemici, dato che sembra di combattere sempre contro gli stessi tre ribelli, ma è un dettaglio trascurabile, che si nota quasi solamente combattendo a distanza molto ravvicinata. Musiche ed effetti sonori, pur non lasciando a bocca aperta come invece può succedere per il reparto visivo, sono altrettanto curati e si fondono bene col complesso narrativo, creando un' esperienza audio/visiva degna di uno splendido film. La scelta delle barre nere che modificano la risoluzione base del gioco può risultare fastidiosa, anche se ci si abitua piuttosto in fretta. Se le avessero tolte nelle fasi azione avrebbero spezzato lo standard visivo, quindi, alla fine, è probabilmente stata la scelta migliore mantenerle per tutto il gioco. La storia è ovviamente legata al gusto personale del giocatore, ma, seppure possa risultare un po' scontata per i veterani della fiction in generale, è ben curata e la narrazione si svolge in modo superbo, con un' ottima regia; non darò info aggiuntive su questo aspetto per ovvi motivi di spoiler :).
Voto 9
- Giocabilità: La giocabilità non è sicuramente il lato più eclatante di questo TPS (ThirdPersonShooter). Non presenta infatti grandi novità; anzi, per certi versi sembra aver fatto alcuni passi indietro rispetto agli standard moderni. L' interattività con l' ambiente è molto limitata, ed il gioco è piuttosto ferreo su dove/come ci si può muovere in giro per le varie sezioni; non ci sono capriole o salti, il corpo a corpo gestito come QTE (QuickTimeEvent) risulta un po' goffo (nemico su livello diverso non sempre può essere attaccato in mischia, ad esempio, anche se è poco più in alto del giocatore) e limitante, ed in tutte le parti che non siano di pura azione, la mobilità è altrettanto bloccata. In ogni caso, in quel "poco" che fa, il gioco riesce bene: il sistema di coperture è ottimale e non mi ha mai creato fastidi (come invece mi è successo per altri titoli), permettendo un passaggio disinvolto dai ripari al campo aperto; le meccaniche di sparo funzionano a dovere sia come precisione e fluidità che come resa (anche se a volte ho avuto l' impressione che sparare ad un nemico sbilanciato da un primo colpo risultasse inefficace); i mini giochi legati alla fase esplorativa sono semplici, rapidi e, nel complesso, abbastanza divertenti da non risultare fastidiosi o pesanti. La ricerca dei collezionabili è un' attività piacevole e non troppo complicata, aiutata dall' indicatore dell' oggetto, piuttosto evidente (personalmente ne ho persi solamente 2 nel primo walkthrough), anche se l' assenza di un sistema di tracciamento degli stessi rende poco pratica la raccolta in fasi successive (molto simpatiche le citazioni legate a questo aspetto di gioco). Nel complesso si ha un po' la sensazione di essere legati ed obbligati a giocare il titolo come vogliono i programmatori: se ciò aiuta, da un lato, l' immersione nell' ambientazione (non poter correre quando non sembra appropriato, ad esempio), dall' altro potrebbe dare la sensazione di essere troppo pilotati a quei giocatori che preferiscono una maggior libertà di azione.
Voto 6
- Longevità: Questo è sicuramente il punto dove The Order 1886 pecca maggiormente. Un titolo dal prezzo standard di €69,99 che offre, nel complesso, un' esperienza di gioco che occupa circa una settimana, può far storcere il naso a molti acquirenti. Io ho impiegato circa 15 ore a completare il titolo, giocando con calma a difficoltà normale, cercando i collezionabili senza guida e mirando a fare più trofei possibile, ottenendo anche il Platino, che ha una difficoltà di conquista davvero irrisoria. Si tratta quindi di un tipico titolo "filmone", come li definisco io, da giocarsi una volta godendoselo a livello visivo e di narrazione, per poi riporlo nella propria collezione, fino all' uscita dell' eventuale capitolo successivo. Non credo si senta la mancanza di un MultiPlayer, se non forse una qualche forma di cooperativo, dato che il gioco è chiaramente più orientato alla ricchezza della storia che racconta, piuttosto che all' aspetto competitivo. Questo aspetto del gioco, come già detto, è una questione molto personale, nel senso che ad alcuni giocatori può non interessare la durata quando c' è la qualità in altri aspetti, mentre altri preferiscono titoli che possano occupare mesi e mesi del loro tempo. The Order 1886 non è sicuramente adatto a questi ultimi, a meno che non vogliano provare un' esperienza diversa. Il voto oggettivo non può però che essere orientato verso il basso, data l' innegabile cortezza di ogni aspetto del gioco.
Voto 5
La mia sensazione è che questo titolo sia un po' un campo di prova sperimentale per un team di programmatori abituati ad altro. E' come se in alcuni aspetti si fossero volutamente trattenuti e limitati, come a tastare il terreno. Speriamo che nei seguiti (perchè ce ne saranno, se le vendite non risultano troppo scarse) decidano di osare di più, ampliando l' esperienza di gioco dal punto di vista puramente ludico, dato che sul piano narrativo han già ottenuto un gran risultato.
Nel complesso The Order 1886 E' un bel prodotto, ma inadatto a tutti i palati e sicuramente più orientato a quei giocatori che amano la fiction, piuttosto che l' azione e l' open world: se ami leggere libri, fumetti, guardare film e simili, The Order è il titolo per te e vale i soldi che ci spenderai. Se invece sei più per passare ore ed ore a cercare e completare missioni secondarie o raccogliere dozzine e dozzine di collezionabili per sbloccare questo o quell' extra, forse è meglio se ci rifletti un attimo prima di acquistarlo, o che aspetti di trovarlo usato, ad un prezzo più adatto alle poche ore di svago che offre.
Come sempre, Just My Two Cents.