2015 recap: PS3

It's nice that Sony knows how big of a deal earning trophies is from this email. I have played quite a number of great PS3 games in 2015,

1. Grand Theft Auto IV
2. The Evil Within
3. Resident Evil Revelations 2
4. Grand Theft Auto V
5. Yakuza Zero

Almost all of these games are available cross-gen but I made peace with getting the older versions. Some I could see myself upgrading to the current gen version when an enhanced version is available. I'm talking about Yakuza Zero in english and The Evil Within with all the DLC content. I probably won't waste anymore money on Revelations 2,  the game is just not worth the money or time anymore.

I would love to try all the new online features Rockstar added to GTA Online with the current gen but too bad Rockstar don't intend to sell GTA Online separately.

Death Don't Come Cheap

The Evil Within is a pretty brutal game. The manual even warns you that death will come often and when you least expect it. I probably had a dozen retries on the prologue alone before the title sequence rolled. I would say the prologue is the weakest part of the game. It gave a really bad impression of what the game isn't actually about. 

Apart from the prologue, this isn't an unfair game and the death count can certainly be cut down. I think making the game any easier removes a lot of tension within the game. Mikami pacing and structure of the game is excellent, he creates space for tension and also the big payoff moments. It's never one element for too long , this isn't strictly a stealth game that seems to be trend after the emergence of The Last of Us.

Even the active cinematic moments that looked cool in other games but really all you are doing is just pushing a button or holding down the analog stick to run is different here. I won't spoil it but rest assured you need some skill and quick wits to survive these moments.  

The Content Within

Back in the day all video games come with manuals but these days with the emergence of digital distribution most retail copies don't carry manuals anymore. I remember during the PS2 generation, Nintendo's Gamecube had the best manuals - full color and printed on heavy paper stock, a really incentive to pick the Gamecube version over the others. Now Nintendo has gone cheap, the manuals are no longer printed and worse, the Club Nintendo codes are printed on the back of the cover art! I always thought the back of the cover art is meant for a nice alternate cover but I guess Nintendo had other ideas.

The Evil Within is certainly not as bad as most recent games, it comes with a nice double-sided cover and full color manual. Of course the most important content is the game itself and so far, the game is pretty amazing. The game performance came under fire upon release due to its technical issues but so far I haven't encounter anything I would consider a deal-breaker. In fact, I was so absorbed playing this game that it's hard for me to pay any attention to Revelations 2 which has turned out to be a bit lackluster in my opinion.