The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by jfissel »

I only have 1 trophy left for the God of War platinum and it's an optional tough boss battle. I've heard things...so we'll see how difficult I find it.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by argyle »

I kicked the difficulty down to easy in GoW. I kept hitting some difficulty spikes that I found frustrating, and even tho some of those were optional things that I could have come back to once I was leveled up some more...I didn't want to. I'm in it more for the story anyway, really.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by jfissel »

Platinum!

I did cheat a little and drop it down to easy for this last trophy. After spending 20 tries on this fight on normal, I could only get the boss down to about 20-25% health. I beat the boss on the 3rd try on easy.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by canedaddy »

Nice job, j!
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

argyle wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 3:09 amI kicked the difficulty down to easy in GoW. I kept hitting some difficulty spikes that I found frustrating, and even tho some of those were optional things that I could have come back to once I was leveled up some more...I didn't want to. I'm in it more for the story anyway, really.
I haven't had such conflicting feelings about a game in a long time as I'm having with God of War. It does so much right, but at the same time it does a lot wrong as well. It's far from a perfect game like a lot of critics would have you believe. It's bloated, unbalanced and unfocused a lot of the time despite it wanting you to think otherwise based on Kratos's commentary.

I'm nearing the end, and I feel like it has overstayed its welcome a little bit. While I tend to like games to be long, that's usually more for open world games and RPGs. Story driven action adventure games I like to be a little more moderate in length since they're more directed, and their somewhat more linear design structures don't lend to excessive lengths IMO. Basically, if they're too long they start to feel like they're repeating themselves and become a bit repetitive. That's what's happening with God of War for me, especially since they make you fight the same mini-bosses continuously in addition to having you backtrack through some of the same areas a few times. And lately it's been one difficult enemy encounter after another without including breaks in-between like it did previously. Some enemy encounters I cut through like a hot knife through butter, but lately each enemy encounter is becoming a fight for survival. And I'm tired of fighting the same mini-bosses so much.

While I've been finding the challenge to be just about right on normal, I'm starting to think that I might want to drop it to easy just to wrap it up since I'm ready for it to be over so that I can move onto something else. While Kratos is more likable in this game compared to previous GoW games, he's still Kratos and not a character that I personally find appealing to spend such a long period of time with like I do with other action adventure game characters such as Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn), Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), or Senua (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice) for example. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I have to stare at the backside of a character for a long period of time I prefer it to be a female's instead of a male's. :P
Last edited by Phaseknox on Thu May 10, 2018 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by canedaddy »

Phaseknox wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 10:08 pm It's bloated, unbalanced and unfocused a lot of the time...
Are you talking about the game or yourself?

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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

canedaddy wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 10:54 pmAre you talking about the game or yourself?
Both. :lol: I'm starting to think that I'm bipolar. :P

I just played more God of War, and was having a great time. I notice that I mainly complain about it when I reach a tough part that frustrates me, but once I get past it I'm having fun again. I dropped it to easy but wasn't having fun because it doesn't present any challenge, so I put it back on normal and I'm enjoying the combat encounters again since they're offering a challenge without being too overwhelming most of the time. I still feel that the game is somewhat unbalanced in terms of enemy encounters especially when there's waves of cheap enemies like the exploding ones, regenerating health ones and teleporting ones (not the witches) for example. But I've gotten good at the combat, and have upgraded my weapons and gear a lot and have unlocked most of the special moves available. The problem is that some of the special moves are hard to remember how to perform, especially in the heat of combat.

Saying that it's bloated, unbalanced and unfocused is a little harsh, but I don't think that it needs half of the optional collectables, lore, side content and enhancement items that it has. I would have preferred more favors (side quests) in exchange for all of the little challenge islands around the lake, and there's way too much time spent tinkering with stuff in the menus and at shops IMO. I think that I've spent more time in menus in this game than I have in RPGs. The combat encounters are unbalanced at times, and it somewhat loses focus when it opens up. But the good definitely outweighs the bad by a large margin, and there's no denying that it's an impressive game in almost every regard.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by canedaddy »

I get where you're coming from, but like you said, the lore and collectibles are optional, so you're free to ignore them, and it's hard to complain about there not being enough sidequests given that GoW has never had them before. Even though it's added a lot of RPG elements you can't expect it to be The Witcher or Skyrim.

I'm going to try to be better than all of you young hotshots and not drop the difficulty down on my way to a platinum. Feel free to root against me and mock me when I fail, as I probably will. :)
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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by jfissel »

canedaddy wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 1:08 pmI'm going to try to be better than all of you young hotshots and not drop the difficulty down on my way to a platinum. Feel free to root against me and mock me when I fail, as I probably will. :)
Well, I wish you the best there. I'm guessing I could have beaten the tough optional boss on normal at some point, but it just became a decision about how long I wanted to spend on that fight.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 18: 5/5/18: Where's Argyle? Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

canedaddy wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 1:08 pmI get where you're coming from, but like you said, the lore and collectibles are optional, so you're free to ignore them
Yeah I know, but all of that stuff cluttered everywhere throughout the levels just constantly reminds me that I'm playing a video game and gives the overall experience less of an organic feel.
canedaddy wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 1:08 pmit's hard to complain about there not being enough sidequests given that GoW has never had them before. Even though it's added a lot of RPG elements you can't expect it to be The Witcher or Skyrim.
I was just pointing out that I would have preferred them cutting out some of the other side content such as the individual island challenges/optional boss fights in favor of more side quests since they're better side content IMO.
canedaddy wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 1:08 pmI'm going to try to be better than all of you young hotshots and not drop the difficulty down on my way to a platinum.
I'm still playing the game on normal, I only dropped it down to easy a couple of brief times when there were difficulty spikes but quickly returned it to normal when enemy encounters weren't presenting any challenge.
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