What is she doing?

Assassins Creed 3 Liberation • PlayStation Vita

It was inevitable that I was going to have a day where I would have difficulty getting a trophy. The fact that I’m posting this in the late afternoon is fairly indicative of today’s efforts. I pushed forward a bit on FC3 with no trophy, tried fruitlessly to capture another bounty in Stranger’s Wrath, hell, I even had a bash at New Little King’s Story, but my save data had disappeared so I didn’t have time to slog through an opening tutorial again.

So, I went back to the trophy list for AC3L but there was nothing that didn’t seem to be a grind. I hunted through the forums to see what was achievable. I had a crack at this trophy because I had unsuccessfully tried to shoot guards on the roof while dressed in the lady persona without the trophy popping. The web forums kindly directed me to the Assassins HQ, of which the balcony can be used to knife some baddies and get the silver trophy!

Hopefully I can make some better progress through Tomb Raider and FC3 this weekend, so there should be some quick achievements to score there.

Touch wood.

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Free Fall

Far Cry 3 • PlayStation 3

To get this morning’s trophy, I went to a hang glider, threw myself off a cliff and let go once I made it over water. It’s hardly noteworthy, but I panicked.

I don’t know why, when I’ve been having difficulty enjoying Stranger’s Wrath, that I would elect to start playing Tomb Raider knowing full well that there were large gaps between each trophy, but I did, and after 30 minutes without a trophy in sight, I quickly did a mental check of ‘easy reach’ trophies I could score. Far Cry 3 seemed my best hope, but having already claimed most of the quick-and-dirty achievements, it took a look to my trophy list to determine what was achievable in the time that was left.

So … I threw myself off a cliff.

I’m considering what other Vita gems I might be able to play in the coming month, because I haven’t been stoked with the PS+ offering. There’s Batman, of course, but chronologically it comes after the console version, so my small neurosis would prefer I finish that first. I’m not sure if The Last of Us new multiplayer DLC has any trophies attached to it (I doubt it) but there’s an option as well. I also have the Tomb Raider original HD trilogy, but I’m loathe to start something new until I’ve cleared this small backlog of games-to-finish.

One Smart Cookie

Tomb Raider • PlayStation 3

If there’s one thing I remember about Square Enix’s Tomb Raider reboot, is that it takes some time to get an achievement. I’ve clocked this game before on Xbox, but because I’m fairly certain the rules allow for a double-dip, this PlayStation trophy-run is going to count for a second helping (even Sony allow for – on some titles – two trophies to be obtained for PS3 and Vita versions respectively). Besides, you still have to accomplish the task twice, don’t you?

So, with that disclaimer in mind, this is really the first trophy you can easily achieve in Tomb Raider, earned by venturing into your first tomb and solving the puzzle to get the goods. I wanted to knock this one on the head, because I hate nothing more than an entry on my trophy list with 0% beside it. If I can earn at least one little trophy on a title, then I’m generally happy. So, attempting the game pre-armed with some knowledge about how to go about Tombs, I was able to knock this one on the head this morning, and then push-on to the top of the radio tower.

Admittedly, I’m doing this run-through on easy, as there are no difficulty-based trophies on TR (which makes me very happy) and I’m more interested in getting the story complete rather than any great depth into the story – particularly with a FC3, AC3 and GTAV mix on-the-go. Throw in an occasional game of Stranger’s Wrath on Vita, then you would think there’s no time for work and family! There is, though. If you want something done, give it to a busy person.

Full Bars

Far Cry 3 • PlayStation 3

I’ve been working on a few games today, FC3 and Tomb Raider among them. I even got my copy of The Last of Us back from a family member, so I know there are a few new MP maps to finish off there!

This trophy is for liberating nine radio towers (half of eighteen towers in total) and most people probably unlock this through natural story progression. I’m rapidly running out of time to juggle FC3 along with TR now … so I’m pumping along.

I’m also told that COD Ghosts is a bit of a letdown, so I’m a bit disappointed that my only PS4 launch title is not getting rave reviews – so there may be hope for a final few games yet.

Starting the Journey

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD • PlayStation Vita

I tried a bit more of Assassins Creed III: Liberation before moving onto Stranger’s Wrath, but after running around shooting guards off rooftops in the ‘Lady’ persona without a trophy popping, I got a bit frustrated and decided to move on.

I have fond memories of playing ‘Abe’s Odyssey’ as a young bloke, so I wanted to see how this game stacked up against my memories of old. This is a vastly different game, however, with even the setting sharing only the slightest of similarities. I like the first/third person view and its easy-going approach to gameplay. Graphics, despite the ‘HD’ suffix, still feel a bit simple, but I might be spoilt after playing some fantastic looking games recently.

I’m doing a Hard play through, because I think starting on Hard helps you learn the gameplay mechanics just that bit quicker. Assuming the ‘bounty’ missions are packaged into nice hour-long romps, then I should have enough here to keep me going for a few weeks!

Assuming missions are broken up into easily digestible bite-size chunks, I think this will be a good commuting game.

Shipmaster

Assassins Creed 3 Liberation • PlayStation Vita

I’m pretty much into trophy cleanup mode now. I’ve nailed the sync points and am trying to chip away at the diary pages (I never knew eagle vision got them to pop up on the map!) and other collectables. I went and bought a few more ships to bring my total up to the maximum eight for this trophy, then have been slowly going around town finishing up ‘Free the Slaves’ and ‘Business Rivals’ missions.

I have my PS+ version of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD to move onto shortly, so hopefully a new game to trophy-run with soon. I’m also hoping to borrow a few games off my brother-in-law today, Tomb Raider among them (which, full disclosure, I have finished on Xbox), so there is plenty to keep me occupied until PS4 lands in just a few short weeks!

The Truth

Assassins Creed 3 Liberation • PlayStation Vita

So, I went back and killed all the ‘Citizen Es’ and this trophy popped this morning, but the ‘True’ ending I was looking for seems to have already played out according to the folks on this forum. For reference, the two I missed were in the Mexican pyramind and a shipwreck in the Bayou. I remember seeing them during the game but mustn’t have followed through.

It was a little anti-climactic, but it did give me an excuse to run around and knock a few diary pages and viewpoints on the head. I might finish up with both of those and the dressing table tomorrow.

Complete Aveline’s Story

Assassins Creed 3 Liberation • PlayStation Vita

I’m reliably assured that completing AC3L without killing all of the ‘Citizen E’s’ results in a ‘fake’ ending which makes this trophy pop. I’m not sure where I missed a Citizen E encounter as I pretty much explored every inch of the AC3L world (killing E as I went along), but I’m not too concerned – this just gives me a little task to try and accomplish over the long weekend.

I’m convinced that Aveline is one of the best Assassins, second perhaps only to Altair. Liberation is getting a HD remake for the PS3 which should bring her into the mainstream gaming vernacular, and hopefully this means we’ll see more of her (though I’m doubtful, Ubisoft seem to kill/cull the main characters of their biggest IP).

Bring on the long weekend!

Money to Burn

Far Cry 3 • PlayStation 3

Having saved Oliver yesterday, I figured there might be a bit of a stretch before my next story trophy, so I planned on knocking the nine radio towers on the head. Between me and the tower, however, was an outpost, ripe for liberation. So, while still nestled inside my shipping container, I restocked my ammo supply … and ding!

Well, knowing that my work was done for the day, I figured that I’ll push on with the story and save the tower trophy for a day when I’m pressed for time (the upcoming long weekend is a good example). Some days you just get an easy ride!

Hands off my Stoner

Far Cry 3 • PlayStation 3

One typo and this could have been an entirely different achievement.

A bit more FC3 this morning, and another demonstration about why the third incarnation is by far-and-away the superior product to FC2. At least, if you have nothing to do, the environment is lush, colourful and holds just the right degree of danger and beauty. FC2 on the other hand, has me meeting faction leaders I don’t care about regarding a war that I can’t get invested in.

Story, Environment, Gameplay – all superior here, with this mission, to ‘Rescue Oliver from the Pirates’ showing just how much fun this can be. A spot of sniping, a boat-and-gun section and needing to shoot down a helicopter, all without being too over-the-top and not needing a large investment of time.

I’m beginning to see what shape the games ending this generation are taking. Resistance: Fall of Man at PS3 launch didn’t have the same euphoric feeling that GTAV and The Last of Us has, and I know that COD Ghosts is unlikely to have the same impact that games will five years from now. I’m probably only going to get to play the new Batman on PC now, as we edge exceptionally close to the launch of next-gen and, good intentions aside, the PS3 gets stashed in some wardrobe just in case there’s a game I want to play one day (I’ll come back to you one day, Sega Master System II!).