The 8 Stages of VR 18 (Metal Gear Rising)

First Attempt
You may not even realize that this is a “one-hit KO” challenge at first. You take out the first wave easily by baiting the Gekko’s bum-rush and countering, the same technique you’ve been using the majority of the game. It’s not until you get killed by the Mastiff’s drop kick that you realize what you are in for.
“One-hit KO? This is going to be tough.”

Stage 1: Denial
After a couple hours of failed attempts, you start to blame the mission for being too difficult and unfair.
“The stupid camera keeps getting me killed!”

Stage 2: More Denial
By this point you’ve mastered perfect parrying the Mastiffs only to subject yourself to the horror of wave 3.
“That laser attack is so unfair!”

Stage 3: Anger
You’re seeing red. Your gameplay is starting to suffer due to your lack of focus. You start to spout expletives in a vain attempt to vent your frustration. Sadly for many, the game disc itself does not survive this stage.
“[EXPLETIVE DELETED] [EXPLETIVE DELETED] [EXPLETIVE DELETED]!!!”

Stage 4: Bargaining
You start to realize that success in this mission is highly dependant on the actions of the enemy AI. You beg the game for mercy.
“If only the enemy AI would just do what I want it to do!”

Stage 5: Acceptance
After hours and hours of failed attempts, you finally accept your defeat. Your eyes are getting heavy, your reflexes are slowed and your drive has been all but squashed.
“Forget this, it’s not worth it.”

Stage 6: Research
You start to watch YouTube videos and read forum threads about the mission, hoping to discover some kind of tactic or exploit to make the mission more manageable.
“This guy on YouTube makes it look so easy…”

Stage 7: Revengeance!
You’ve gotten a good night’s sleep and return to the game with a clear head and renewed motivation. You’re parrying and dodging like a pro, Raiden on the screen looks like poetry in motion. You embarrass the Mastiffs and trick the Fenrir into killing his own entourage. You obliterate the Grad using the tactial Sai stun lock trick you saw on YouTube.
“Holy crap, I actually did it!!”

Stage 8: All That Heavenly Glory
You are elated now. You triumphantly proclaim “I beat VR mission 18!!!” on your Facebook status. No one knows what you’re talking about.
“I wonder what VR 19 is like?”

Platinum Report: DmC: Devil May Cry

I got the platinum for DmC: Devil May Cry. I had been looking forward to playing this game for a long time and let me tell you I was not disappointed! Here are some of my thoughts on the game.

First of all, let me address the issue of the reboot/Dante redesign. Like many hardcore Devil May Cry fans I was skeptical about Capcom’s decision to redesign the DmC characters and reboot the series, but I figured as long as the combat and gameplay were top notch I would enjoy the game just fine.

Once I had the game in hand and started playing, I actually started to appreciate the reboot. The newly redesigned DmC world is a world parallel to our own, but the twist is that demons are controlling the populace with subliminal messages and media propaganda. So you spend the game fighting demons and eventually face Mundus, whose appearance and role in the series has been completely revamped. Plot-wise the game draws elements from Devil May Cry 1 and 3 and I think it really sets the foundation for future successful DmC sequels.

In terms of the combat, this game offers the same addictive gameplay that is expected of a Devil May Cry game. Most of Dante’s signature moves and weapons are back, which makes the combat instantly recognizable. The problem for me and most fans of the series is that the difficulty this time around has been severely reduced. I think that maybe the developers were trying to keep this game from being overly difficult so as not to scare away new players to the series. To give you an idea of the difficulty reduction (and this is entirely my opinion), I would say that playing DmC on ‘Dante Must Die’ mode is easier than playing Devil May Cry 4 on ‘Son of Sparda’ mode. While the game is easier this time around there is still challenge to be had on the upper difficulties should you wish to attempt them. DmC isn’t as brutal as past Devil May Cry games, which may be a plus or negative for you depending how much of a gamer you are.

Surprisingly, the shining star in this game is the level design. The game offers some of the most creative levels and backdrops I’ve seen in a while, there are even some fun platforming sections that do a good job of breaking up the combat. DmC also has great bosses, some of which I found genuinely disturbing my first time through the game.

All in all, I liked this game a lot. Sure there are things that I would like to see changed for DmC2, but I am just happy that Devil May Cry is back and getting the attention it deserves. To me, this game will always be the king of the hack ‘n slash genre.