A new trailer has been released for Square Enix and Airtight Games’ murder mystery game, Murdered: Soul Suspect revealing details of the killer and their crimes.
Playing as detective Ronan O’Connor, you investigate a series of brutal murders, including your own. Set in the eerie city of Salem, the ghostly figure of O’Connor must work to apprehend the murderer before they claim too many victims.
Point-and-click games are the holy grail of platinum trophies. Posing no real threat, there are no difficult platforming levels, and often no collectibles to concern yourself with. The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is really no different to the Back to The Future game in this respect, with it’s most difficult moments lying in puzzles.
As the name suggests, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is based on a Sherlock Holmes adventure. The whole game is one story with smaller mysteries building up to a much larger case, though all are linked and as you solve the mysteries the pieces of the larger puzzle will begin to fit together.
The positives of The Testament of Sherlock Holmes are far outnumbered by the negatives. To try and remain on a positive note for a while longer, the puzzles are challenging without being infuriating, and there are comprehensive guides available online. Though the backgrounds and scenes seem authentic to the Victorian England setting of the game, a below average level of graphics means you’ll never get to enjoy it. The game also suffers from some truly awful voice acting, with the actors playing the children some of the worst I’ve ever heard.
Throughout the course of the game you will control Sherlock Holmes, John Watson and Toby, Holmes’ dog. Each character feels more difficult to control than the last, and at times it feels impossible to get the characters to even look in the direction you want them to. Luckily, the bulk of the game centres around solving puzzles, but the searching for clues often feels very labourious due to the sub-par controls.
Players must be aware that there are a number of missable trophies for this game – six in total. With no chapter select available (the game makes you save your progress manually, I would advise creating multiple save files as a precaution), if you miss one trophy then you’ll have to play right through from the beginning.
Playstation Trophies list the game as a 2/10 difficulty and estimate the game with take around 10 hours to complete. Though I’d agree on difficulty, I’d add that with a guide you can probably complete the game in around 8 hours. Be warned, if you aim to get the platinum on this game, you’ll spend a lot of your time feeling very frustrated!
Write about what you know, they always say. Well, what I know is trophy whoring, and you know what? I don’t even care. I’m here to share my wisdom, so that we all might learn and help grow our trophy scores. This series of articles features top tips for choosing your game, a suggestion of selection of games to get you started on your platinum journey, and games to definitely avoid if your goal is 100% completion.
So, to get us started, this week are my top tips for trophy hunting.
1. Do your research
I cannot emphasise this step enough. You wouldn’t believe the amount of games I’ve nearly played, thinking they’ll be a walk in the park, an easy platinum (or an “EP” as we in the trophy trade call them), only to find out it’ll take 40 hours, and I’ll probably never get the platinum due to a potential glitch. This stage is where PS3 Trophies is your friend. Search any game on the website, and you’ll find a guide created by a fellow hunter detailing the best route to the platinum, along with a difficulty rating that has been voted on by those who have played and an estimated time of completion. Whilst perusing the website, it is key to search the forums. Many a time I have come across something which I think looks doable, only to find out that many other gamers have struggled through parts of the game.
2. Source your games
LoveFilm was a real friend of mine in my heaviest stage of platinum farming. After searching a number of lists for the easiest and quickest platinums, I had a shortlist of games to attempt. I selected a LoveFilm package which allowed me to get a game and a film at a time, and added the whole host of games to my rental list. The key to getting my money’s worth was to make sure there was a quick turnaround of games, this also benefitted my platinum cause greatly. Unfortunately LoveFilm has decided from August it will no longer offer a games rental service. Quick research shows Blockbuster are still offering game rentals on a similar package (£9.99 for unlimited rentals, two discs at a time) – their website even declares “We Still Rent Games!“ If this Blockbuster service isn’t an option, you can always try buying secondhand through Amazon or eBay, then sell the game on once completed, though you may lose money through this route.
3. Plan your route
Before you start the game, unless you mind playing a clean-up game, it is a good idea to read a roadmap of the best way to proceed. The roadmaps on PS3 Trophies are designed to guide you through the quickest route to the platinum trophy, along with guides for collectables and any pointers for missable trophies. Search forums of games on the website to see if there are any glitches which can be used to your advantage, as they are possible.
4. Enjoy the game
Or try to, at least. I find that if I know I’m going to get a platinum, it makes playing a game I wouldn’t ordinarily play a little better. There’s nothing worse than forcing yourself to traipse through a game you really hate, so make sure you think you’ll be able to put up with whatever you play before you start. Nobody likes 2% trophy lists.
Last week I treated myself to a marathon session of Gossip Girl, fitting in the final series in two night time sittings. The end of the series left me in shock as it was finally revealed after six seasons in the running.
The reveal got me thinking about my favourite plot twists in popular culture, and I’ve picked my top five as listed below.
Obviously, this article contains spoilers, so be warned.
1. Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl)
Not the obvious choice, but I definitely didn’t see it coming. There was a brief moment where the thought entered my mind I thought it could be possible, but discarded the idea, because “It’s Gossip Girl.” I was definitely left with my mouth wide open when it was revealed that it had been Lonely Boy all along who was the words behind Manhattan’s favourite gossip hound.
2. Scott Shelby is the Origami Killer (Heavy Rain)
Another reveal which came and hit me straight in the face. Heavy Rain enthralled me from the get go, and I enjoyed the narrative style and the playing from the viewpoint of the four main characters. It never occurred to me that the man we were all trying to hunt down was in fact one of the protagonists.
3. Cole Phelps dies (L.A. Noire)
After playing through an entire game as a character, I like to feel that I’ve bonded with them. Sure, I might not approve of all of their life choices (having an affair, Phelps, really?), but nevertheless, we’d been through a lot together. Imagine my surprise when Cole Phelps, out of nowhere, was washed away by a flood in the sewage system. What a way to go. A definite jaw-open, controller gripping moment, and I’m pretty sure a lot of expletives left my mouth in that moment.
4. We’re all infected (The Walking Dead)
I didn’t find out this gem in the Walking Dead series in the conventional manner. I was a little late to the party on this one, and found out through playing the Telltale Games series rather than through the graphic novels or television show. I was seriously shocked when this bombshell came hurtling my way, and was left worrying about the characters in the television show and the game. It was interesting knowing the information before the television show characters, but boy, was I relieved when they found out. I can’t handle that much knowledge on my own.
5. Eddard Stark is killed (Game of Thrones)
I’m not going to lie to you – I was devastated when the Stark patriarch and all-round hero of Westeros was beheaded in season one of Game of Thrones, and I was devastated again when I read the book. I think it’s just one of those things I’ll never get over, like when Heroes was cancelled. I soon learnt the harsh rules of this game of thrones, and each death gets a little easier.
Culture Shack 