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Kicking off The Lizard's Net is passionate Irish gamer and trophy hunter, @PSNKlair88 who gives us a rundown of some of his recent Platinums and tells us how difficult they really are. This guy knows how to finish a game with a flourish.
Mad Max - Difficulty Rating - 6/10.
I am a big fan of Just Cause 2 (can't wait for JC3!!) so once I heard a similar style, open-world car destruction derby game was being released by them, I knew I'd want it. Mad Max was a highly enjoyable game for me ... in a car destroying the world. The hand to hand combat and sheer amount of collectives without the benefit of a decent map or collective tracker, however, make everything about this game on foot a chore after 40+ hours. Trophy wise the game is also quite buggy and if you don't prioritise killing certain enemies in a certain way while they're available, you can really leave yourself stuck towards the end of the game trying to complete it all. The collectibles are another thing. There are loads. Loads of small locations you have to loot and some just have one item. It seems pointless needing to visit about 150+ small locations so prepare for end game grinding, if you like that. It took me 67 hours to Platinum
MGSV - Difficulty Rating - 9/10
I am a huge MGS fan and veteran. I've Platinum'd Metal Gear 2 & 3 on PS3. For me, MGSV is the most perfect Metal Gear gameplay wise. The fox engine runs so
smooth and it is the first truly open world stealth, multiple approach game. Unfortunately I believe this awesome evolution of gameplay in the MGS world must have come at the cost of a reduction in other traditional Metal Gear qualities. Something every MGS fan would miss. The Story. Long codec calls of information, a more personal approach to the story, things I really enjoyed about previous titles. It's the weakest MGS story I've ever played and it disappointed but the gameplay more than makes up for it and overall I'm not dissatisfied with the game at all. The Platinum is a long run. Hideo always makes you work. Complete all 50 missions on S rank & mission tasks. Complete all Side Ops (156), capture all animals in the world and fully recruit an army & upgrade Mother base. Daunting tasks that require lots of patience and planning. It took me a concentrated effort of 127 hours to achieve the Platinum but being such a massive MGS fan, I loved every second of it and didn't feel sick of the game, even after achieving everything possible.
Shadow of Mordor – Difficulty Rating – 4/10
I highly enjoyed this easy but lengthy Platinum. The unique enemy system has some key trophies tied to it, but generally it's more of the usual easy open world formula. No difficulties, plenty of collectibles.
Destiny – Difficulty Rating – 8/10
I was a huge Destiny gamer from day one. I probably have more than 1300 hours done in one year. It's the game I play consistantly over time, even long after achieving the Platinum. The difficulty rating for this is purely because no matter how good you are or high your skill level, the Platinum is almost impossible without a good Fireteam of other online Players. The trophies for flawlessly completing a raid without dying and the levelling sub-classes trophy make this Platinum a long haul.
Dying light - Difficulty Rating – 5/10
Co-op open world zombies done well! I would have really enjoyed this game only the trophy set was quite buggy. Some collectibles would register and you wouldn't know which ones, which could require
collecting them all again. Luckily that never befell me, but I was cursed to wander aimlessly for several hours looking for random events for a trophy.
God of War 3 – Difficulty Rating – 6/10
The end of the Trilogy. A personal favourite of mine as I have Platinum'd all the GOW games. 3 stands out as one of the most epic and visually stunning games on both PS3 & PS4. Titan mode will test the average gamer and so too will the Challenges. A feat only a god can best.
When the main man is not online you can find him over on Twitter @PSNKlair88 where he's always more than happy to share his gaming knowledge.
Who's next for the Lizard's Net?
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