Sims 4

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March 2020 Free PS Plus Games

Posted by John Klein III on February 26, 2020
Posted in: Fun With YouTube, Games, Websites. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The March 2020 Free PS Plus Games are : Shadow of the Colossus and Sonic Forces!

Shadow of the Colossus is a PS2 game that was remastered by the same team that brought us the Uncharted Collection, Bluepoint Games.

Sonic Forces was the other game released to celebrate Sonic turning 25, and we got Sonic Mania way back in June 2019.

I am going to commit to at least killing the first Colossus and completing the first level set for Sonic, and then see where I go from there.

.  .  .

PSPrices

Shadow of the Colossus is typically a $20 game but goes as low as $10.

Sonic Forces is typically a $20 game but goes as low as $10, as well.

So both games are collectively $40 at their highest and $20 at their lowest.

We already got our money’s worth last month with our subscription for the high end.  For the low end, we were at $41 dollars and now we are at $61, so that is one more dollar than the subscription service, so all of the games for the rest of the year are pure bonus.  I may keep tracking it just to see what the overall value is for the subscription service.

I checked the PlayStation Store and none of the games have any paid DLC.  Sonic Forces Digital Standard Edition which came with the free Shadow DLC.  Shadow of the Colossus does not have any additional DLC.

.  .  .

Here are reddit’s responses to the announcement :

(Playstation Blog) PS+ March 2020 Titles: Shadow of the Colossus + Sonic Forces from PS4

Shadow of the Colossus and Sonic Forces are your PS Plus games for March from PlayStationPlus

March 2020 PS+ Free Games | Shadow of Colossus & Sonic Forces | NA PSN | Available 3/3 from PS4Deals

The most repeated criticism is that we are now three for three months wherein we have received a remaster.  Which I do not mind as I have been wanting to play Shadow of the Colossus for years now.  The other criticism of the month is that Sonic Force is the lesser of the two Sonic games, but I am sure it is still playable.

.  .  . 

Here are the videos from my YouTube peeps :

Nathan with PlayStation Access :

Now that Elle is leaving, Nathan is having to do the Free PS+ video and the store update videos again.

Adam of PlayStationGrenade :

Ben of Platinum Chasers :

.  .  .

Here are the PlayStationTrophies.org guides :

Shadow of the Colossus

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/shadow-of-the-colossus-ps4/guide/

Sonic Force

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/sonic-forces/guide/

.  .  .

Here is what I have been up to, gaming wise.

I earned my 28th Platinum with Adam’s Venture Origins, a pretty enjoyable game.  There were sections where it looked like collectibles were clearly meant to be added as there are some open spaces with nothing to explore.  The game literally had to point out the characters names were Adam and Eve(lyn).  Pretty clever.  My least favorite element was the stealth required for Chapter 14, it took a while for me to figure out the routes, and there were only two routes really.  Chapter 19 has the same stealth elements but I was able to figure it out fairly quickly.

I am considering Adam’s Venture Origins as a bonus platinum and still plan on earning Life is Strange : Before the Storm as my March Platinum.  Good to stock up on these.

.  .  . 

Erica, a game I really have been wanting for a while, is finally five dollars.  I did my first playthrough and only really messed up not walking across the carpet that Kirstie was cleaning.  My second playthrough was a tad more disastrous and has killed my buzz to continue with the game for a bit.  There is a moment when Detective Blake takes Erica back to her flat and he breaks open the neighbor’s door from across the hall.  We have a moment to either follow or stay and I desperately wanted to follow.  Instead, either the very gracious timer ran out or I did not hover the cursor over follow clearly enough.  So she stayed and I lost like 30 minutes or so, it could have been 20.  But it was so late at night that I did not want to restart it.  I did tweet at Flavorworks asking for a patch to make the cursor a tad user friendlier.

If it could be more like Late Shift, where the options are on the bottom of the screen or that I can choose what I want with the arrow prompts, that would be preferred.  You can use a phone app to play the game or the controller.  I did not like using my phone so I uninstalled the app but when you use the controller, you strictly use the touchpad.  Which is not that bad until you want some precise decisions to be made.

I will eventually get back to it but I am taking a break from the game.  I just have five more playthroughs, so I will do it but I will just move onward with my gaming rotation.

.  .  .

A game that is giving me no problems is Hitman Go.  I am purely playing along with a guide but I am having such a great time with the game.  I just love how it is like a chess board as we move Agent 47 around, completing either one of two goals.  Sometimes, all three goals can be met at once but it is a rare treat.  The goals are usually:  complete the mission, do it under x amount of times, grab a briefcase.  I have completed the first two chapters and have the third one of seven to complete next.

There is a Lara Croft Go but I may just wait on that one.  I have never really played any Tomb Raider games besides attempting the third one on the original PlayStation One, and I barely could jump over the water slide onto the vine back then.

.  .  .

With my final new game, Monopoly Family Fun Pack, I completed the Plus side of the pack and still have the Deal side to play.  Plus was a lot of fun, and that is the half of it that I wanted the game for.  There is a MyMonopoly DLC that is ten dollars, and it rarely goes on sale and when it does, it only goes down to eight dollars, so I probably will not be buying that anytime soon.

.  .  .

I am in my final two levels of Lego Batman 3 in Free Play.  I still have to go back and get the bulk of minikits, save Adam West, and obtain all of the character tokens.  My main goal was to go through all of the levels in Free Play, earning the character token that will make Bat-Mite happy, obtaining the Red Brick with Plastic Man, seeking out any minikits that I can find (now that I have the minikit detector), and rescuing Adam West (now that I also have his location detector).  I earned those last two red bricks, plus the character token red brick, way late in the process, so I will have to go back and get those.  But in that clean up, I just have to get the item I want, and jump out of the game, which is pretty nice.

I am making my way through all of the Lantern planets, with just two left, Odym and Okaara.  I am also making pretty good progress with the VR missions.  After all of that, I just have to chase down all of the gold bricks in the Batcave and the Watchtower.  Plus, all of the DLC missions have to be done in Free Play too, but I wanted to wait until I got all of the red bricks first so I can get those done in one.

.  .  .

I found a pretty handy guide to get the Sims 4 Platinum rather quickly :

https://psnprofiles.com/guide/9717-the-sims-4-platinum-trophy-walkthrough

I got the Full House trophy but could not download every recommended community pack, but it just feels wrong to earn the trophies in this way.  But I might commit as there are a few trophies that I rather not really put the work in for like outliving five spouses and making whoopie with a ghost and such.

In my proper file, I did master piano playing and programming, so that felt pretty good.  While taking a shower, I noted all of my instrument playing and cooking, I have gained like 30 pounds so, and all around my midsection, so that is not great.  I am working my painting skills now. I have to add a drink bar to my house so I can work on my mixology skill after that.

I have a real problem where I just want to play for like 30 minutes and I end up playing for hours, and I am staying up way too late!

.  .  .

PlayStation is celebrating six years of the PS4 with a PlayStation Player Celebration :

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/campaigns/2020/playstation-player-celebration/

I registered but never received a confirmation email but it states I completed 2/2 tasks so I believe I am in.

There are an assortment of prizes and giveaways.

Goal One is 125K games played, and 500K Trophies earned.  We already hit the games goal and we are at 281,972/500,000 trophies earned.

We get an exclusive PS4 static theme and matched avatar.

Goal Two is 375K games played, 1.5M trophies earned and we get a set of five avatars.  Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us 2, Aloi from Horizon Zero Dawn, and Drake from Uncharted 4.

Goal Three is 675K games played, 2.7M trophies earned.  We will earn an exclusive PS4 dynamic theme.

The next goal starts when the previous goal is met.

The grand prize, to be given away on March 17, is a real-life Platinum trophy (that I really really want!) with our PSN ID on it, a $100 PSN voucher, and voucher codes for a selection of the PS4’s greatest games.  Pictured is Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, The Last of Us Remastered, and Uncharted 4.  So I would give away the Last of Us Remastered code, sell back my physical copy of Uncharted 4, and enjoy the heck out of Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War for the very first time.

I am pretty confident that the community will hit all of those goals pretty easily.  We just have to play one game for at least one hour (across multiple sessions) and each trophy earned goes toward the goal but multiplayer trophies count as double.  But only six trophies per day, so be careful out there!

We already got to the half way mark by the very first day so we are going to smash this!

I wonder how they came up with the 2.7M trophies number, seems very odd.

Plays Sims 4 and the Bioshock Collection

Posted by John Klein III on February 19, 2020
Posted in: Fun With YouTube, Games, Sales, Websites. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

PS+ Subscribers received Sims 4 and the Bioshock Collection of games for February.  Plus Firewall Zero Hour for the VR.

After thinking I would not invest too much time into Sims 4, I invested a crazy amount of time!  I made myself maxed out on playing video games, writing, playing both the violin and the guitar.  I am currently working on my piano skills.  During my writing days, I was earning royalties for all of the books I was writing but I suspect those may be drying up lately.  I made my wife who goes out and works all day so I can stay home and work on my skills, and I used the game’s genetics option to make Walker Dennis, who came out pretty well.  Pretty much my face but with my wife’s proper proportions, so we are all pretty happy.  I really need to move us into a larger house as the piano is out in the yard and that cannot be good for it.

I plan on trying to stick it out and keep the game into the rotation.  It really is a lot of fun.  Repetitive but fun.  I was getting annoyed as I was trying to write songs and it takes forever to write a song, to the point, where I have not written any songs.

.  .  .

Bioshock, and I am definitely not the first one to write this, is such a fun and interesting game!    I pretty much played it over the course of two nights and I defeated Dr. Steinman, and that felt like a good stopping place for the moment.  I am not usually into first person shooters but this game just feels so good to play and explore Rapture.

.  .  .

PSN Remasters & Retro Sale | Ends 2/21 from PS4Deals

There is an amazing Remasters and Retro sale going on right now!  I bought the Batman : Return to Arkham set for five dollars as quickly as I could!  I also scooped up Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as Walker Dennis really wanted to play a Spider-Man fighting game after he saw me playing Injustice 2.  UMvC3 is nine dollars and felt like a pretty good price.  Infinite is way too much for this me, if I was more into fighting games, I would jump at all of the content for $24 but I can easily wait.  Especially as I feel like I am already done with the game.  I would be jumping right into Arkham Asylum but then . . .

.  .  .

Division 2 Standard Edition – $2.99 at PSN Store from PS4Deals

The Division 2 was set to three dollars and I had to buy it!  I knew next to nothing about it, except that it usually still goes for $60 and on sale, it still like $20, so three dollars was pretty worth it.  I definitely got my three dollars worth out of NBA 2k19.

The one draw back is that the Division 2 is such a huge game so now I feel like I have to mainline it for a while to justify the space it takes up.

Here is Dave from PlayStation Access playing the game :

I watched a few minutes of the video and figured, “What the heck?” and bought the game.

I got to level 6 and completed the third main story mission.  So I was able to unlock squads and definitely got my three dollars worth.  The game is much better when you get matched with others, heck, even just having a partner made the game more enjoyable.

.  .  .

Thanks to my 26th Platinum, Life is Strange, I finally got to level 18!

Such an interesting game.  I still plan on making Life is Strange : Before the Storm, my March Platinum.

.  .  .

Here is also a deal that Adam’s Venture Origins is only 19 cents.

Adam’s Venture: Origins – Deluxe Edition – $0.19 – 99% off PS Plus @ NA PSN from PS4Deals

That is a deal I could not pass up!

Here is PlaystationTrophies.org’s trophy guide :

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/adams-venture-origins/guide/

.  .  .

The latest big deal is the Essentials Pick sale :

PSN Essential Picks Sale | Ends 3/3 from PS4Deals

I quickly picked up Erica for $5 and Monopoly Family Fun Pack for $6.

I was making such good progress on Lego Batman 3 again but that is okay, it will be there when I get back.

A lot of excellent games are on sale right now.  I was surprised with how many games I already owned!

Batman : Arkham Knight, Bloodborne, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Marvel Collection, Mafia III, Ratchet & Clank, Man of Medan, The Last of Us Remastered, Lego Movie 2, The Witness, Uncharted 4, Until Dawn, and Until Dawn : Blood Rush,

Here are the two guides for Erica.  One is for overall game :

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/erica-na-ps4/guide/

The other is a text guide, which is what I really need.

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/erica/339001-erica-platinum-walkthrough-text-guide.html

My plan is to play it like Late Shift, with one playthrough, and then play another game or two and come back to Erica.

.  .  .

For my birthday, Walker Dennis got me Lego Incredibles and we burned through the story mode and now just enjoying the open world.

We unlocked Splashdown, and Walker Dennis really wanted to use his mask for his Spider-Man creation, but it was not in the creation options.  So that is unfortunate and disappointing.  It would have been amazing!

.  .  .

When I bought Injustice 2, it did not take long for Walker D to want to fight Batman and the Ninja Turtles.  Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 went on sale for only ten dollars so I bought it.  I forgot the Capcom games did that team-up thing so it isn’t just one character versus another, but three on three.

Turns out, one of Spider-Man’s alternate suits is the Scarlet Spider, so I am super happy about that, but one of the other ones is the black costume, so Walker D likes that.  Though he has been playing as the traditional red and blue suit, which is fine.

.  .  .

I treated Walker Dennis and myself to Lego DC Supervillains Deluxe Edition, so expect some updates about that game!

February 2020 Free PS Plus Games

Posted by John Klein III on January 29, 2020
Posted in: Fun With YouTube, Games, Websites. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The February 2020 Free PS Plus Games are : The Bioshock Collection, Sims 4, and Firewall Zero Hour.

Firewall Zero Hour is a VR title, so that is great that we are moving toward getting VR titles, now we just need to get two PS5 titles (probably Post-January 2021) and my hunch will be correct about what Sony will be doing with the PS+ subscription going forward.

The Bioshock Collection I have heard nothing but amazing things about.  The first two take place in Rapture, an underwater domed city, and Infinite takes place in the sky.  People absolutely rave about these games.

Sims 4, I have heard of the franchise and my gal pal April adores it, I had not heard it had made its way to PS4 yet.  I wonder how it plays on console?  Also, Sims turns 20 this year, so this is like a birthday present for all of us.

I really love that we are getting game collections through the subscription.

I will probably start with BioShock 1, then try Sims 4.  One day, it would be nice to own a VR set, but I have to wait until Walker Dennis is at least 12, so six more years!

.  .  .

PSP Prices has the games valued as such :

BioShock Collection is typically a $60 game, but goes on sale for as low as $12 – so already PS+ pays for itself on the high end.

Sims 4 is typically a $40 game, but goes on sale for as low as $8.

Firewall Zero Hour is a $20 game, but goes on sale for as low as $10.

So let us see if we hit $45 in value just yet!

These games are combined at a value of $120 at their height, or at $30 at their lowest.  The January games were combined at either $30 at their height, or $11 at their lowest, so we are already covered at the highest so I will no longer be tracking that.  At the low end, we are now at $41, which is so close to $45.  No matter what the games are for March 2020, the subscription will pay for itself.

A visit to PSN reveals :

The BioShock Collection has a theme we can buy for $2, so if I take to the game, I could be tempted to buy that.  The Collection comes with all single player content, all DLC content, the “Columbia’s Finest” pack, Director’s Commentary (which I love!), and Imagining BioShock, featuring Ken Levine and Shawn Robertson.

Sims 4 on the other hand has so much additional content!  There are three free avatars and three free themes, but the rest do cost money.

Island Living $40
Toddler Stuff $10
Discover University $40
Spa Day $20
Outdoor Retreat $20
Realm of Magic $20
Fitness Stuff $10
City Living $40
Dine Out $20
Get Together $40
Parenthood $20
Jungle Adventure $20
Cats and Dogs $40
Spooky Stuff $10
Backyard Stuff $10
Get Famous $40
Vampires $20
Seasons $40
Get to Work $40
StrangeVille $20
Deluxe Party Edition $50
Live Lavishly Bundle $60
Vintage Glamour Stuff $10
Cool Kitchen Stuff $10
Moschino Stuff Pack $10
Luxury Party Stuff $10
Bowling Night Stuff $10
Perfect Patio Stuff $10
Kids Room Stuff $10
Movie Hangout Stuff $10
Back to School Bundle $50
Bundle – City Living $50
Romantic Garden Stuff $10
Laundry Day Stuff $10
Plus Cats and Dogs Bundle $50
Deluxe Party Edition Upgrade $10
Bundle – Cats and Dogs, Parenthood $50
Bundle – Seasons, Jungle Adventure $50
Bundle – Get to Work, Dine Out, Kitchen $50

So a lot there if that is your thing.

Firewall Zero Hour also has a slew of DLC!  This game also has eight free avatars but so much more at cost.

Characters

Contractor Jaguar $4
Contractor Lynx $4
Contractor Proxy $4
Contractor Kane $4
Contractor Nash $4
Contractor Ruby $4
Contractor Node $4

Hack Key x5 Pack $5

Deluxe Pack $20, comes with characters, camo skins, face paints, and weapon skins.

Digital Deluxe Edition $40, is the game plus the delux pack.

I have now downloaded all of the free items!

.  .  .

Most reddit reactions seem to be how most already own the BioShock Collection, which was true of the Uncharted Collection, but I do not own the BioShock Collection, so count me as being in the super excited camp.

[Video] PlayStation Plus Monthly Games – February 2020 from PS4

February’s Free PS Plus Games: BioShock: The Collection, The Sims 4, and Firewall Zero Hour from PlayStationPlus

NA | February’s Free PS+ Games: Bioshock: The Collection, The Sims 4, Firewall Zero Hour from PS4Deals

.  .  .

Nathan with PlayStation Access :

Adam with PlayStationGrenade :

Ben with PlatinumChasers :

.  .  .

Dave of PlayStation Access just last week played the first hour of the first BioShock.

So that is nicely timed.  Elle was a great companion, as usual.

.  .  .

PlayStation Trophies Guides :

BioShock

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/bioshock-ps4/guide/

BioShock 2

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/bioshock-2-ps4/guide/

BioShock Infinite

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/bioshock-infinite-remaster/guide/

Sims 4

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/the-sims-4/guide/

Firewall Zero Hour

https://www.playstationtrophies.org/game/firewall-zero-hour/trophies/

No guide, just the trophy list.

.  .  .

Game Updates :

In a bit of exciting news, PS4 users got the Earth 2 costume as free DLC!

It looks pretty great in the game.

.  .  .

In Lego Batman 3, I am slowly making my way through obtaining the red bricks and the Bat-Mite items (which unlock one of three character tokens in each level).

In the first Uncharted game, I got to the first real shoot out and died, and on easy, so that killed some of my buzz, but the game looks stunning on PS4!

We played Portal Knights again, unlocking some additional portals, and just having a great time in the game.

Turns out, something happened to my Lego Marvel Superheroes 1 save file, so instead of 100%, it is now at 0%, so Walker Dennis and I played the first three levels of the game, and unlocked the ability to free play as anyone we have thus unlocked during the open world.  So that was annoying but these things happen.  I feel no pressure, at all, to reclaim anything.  Odd thing though is that Walker Dennis is not earning any of the trophies for completing each chapter, so we really should have made him the first player but I will keep monitoring that.  Once we get some actual characters, I will see if we can earn some character trophies on his file to see if there is a problem with the game itself.

I got all of the trophies in Goat Simulator I feel like I am easily going to obtain.

So all in all, I am feeling pretty well.

.  .  .

I have to look at the trophy guides for Sims 4 and BioShock 1 to see how much I am even going to see but I really want to commit to getting 12 new Platinums this year.  My second one will be for the first Life is Strange game.  I am going to try to do a level of Lego Batman 3, then finish the night with another episode of Life is Strange.  Which should not take too long with four episodes left to do.