Trophy Tuesday: The Most Difficult Platinum Trophy

I've platinumed quite a few games, 41 to be exact. A few of those games, such as Trine 2, were rather easy and could be completed in just a few hours. Others took a great deal of time with Skyrim taking me over 100 hours to platinum. As I pondered this week's Trophy Tuesday blog entry, I considered my most difficult platinum trophy ever.

The contenders:

• Skyrim
• Batman: Arkham City
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Modern Warfare 2 
• Mass Effect 2 

Rather than basing it solely off my experience with each game, I decided to take a look at two factors: 1) Difficulty rating according to ps3trophies.org and 2) How many platinumed the game according to PSNProfiles.com.

Let's start with the difficulty rating. Here are the results going from most difficult (1) to least difficult (5).

1. Batman: Arkham City (7/10 TIE)
2. Batman: Arkham Asylum (7/10 TIE)
3. Modern Warfare 2 (6.5)
4. Mass Effect 2 (6/10)
5. Skyrim (4.5/10)

Next, let's rank them in order of the most rare platinum (1) to the most common platinum (5).

1. Batman: Arkham City (10,885)
2. Mass Effect 2 (10,955)
3. Skyrim (22,752)
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum (23,183)
5. Modern Warfare 2 (56,561)

Truth be told, I would have said Arkham City even before looking at these numbers. Not only did it prove to be the most challenging, it also ended up being the platinum trophy I treasure the most. You see, many trophies are simply a battle of attrition. Find this many items, defeat this many enemies, travel this far...Arkham City has its share of these trophies, but it's really the challenge maps and Riddler trophies that set it apart. 

Whereas other games require you to repeat tasks over and over to get a certain trophy, Arkham City's challenge maps require true skill. You have to practice your moves repeatedly and time your parries perfectly, that is if players wish to pursue the game's most difficult trophy, which requires you to use every move at your disposal (gadgets and all) in one continuous free-flow combo...without getting hit. 

One trophy requires you to utilize every
move in your arsenal without taking damage. 

Believe it or not, the combat challenges actually easy when compared to the predator and campaign challenges, which will take trophy hunters to the brink of insanity. For campaign challenges, you're given a 3 room combo where you must obtain all 3 medals on each challenge for a total of 9 medals. You must complete them in order and you're only allowed 3 continues. Fail more than 3 times and you'll be forced to start from the first challenge all over again.

Aside from the slew of skill-based trophies, there are a number of other trophies, unrelated to skill, that will drive you crazy. You'll have to play the entire game twice if the platinum is your ultimate goal. Arkham City features a New Game Plus mode, which must be completed to earn a silver trophy. You'll have to complete every Riddler challenge and find all the Riddler trophies. There's also the bronze Calendar Man trophy, which requires you to play the game on 12 specific dates throughout the year and speak with Calendar Man. You are able to adjust the time on your PS3 to obtain this trophy; however, it can get cumbersome to repeatedly save the game, quit game, restart game, talk to Calendar Man, etc.

In the end, I'm incredibly proud of this platinum trophy and encourage anyone who wants a challenge to go for it. It will take time, dedication, and practice, but in the end, Batman: Arkham City will be one of the rarest platinum trophies in your collection. For easy platinum trophies? Check out my previous two Trophy Tuesday entries on Sly and Far Cry 3. 

What Are The Best Games Of This Generation?

Does it make the cut?

A recent post on Neogaf got me thinking about my favorite games from this generation. I was surprised at how difficult it turned out to be. I struggled to narrow my extensive list of quality titles down to five. I'm still not sure I'm completely happy with my list.

The problem? I left off a number of games I played for days. What is the best way to determine a top 5 list? 

The main problem is this: I can distinguish between games/movies I love and games/movies that are expertly crafted/well-made. They don't always have to be mutually exclusive, yet sometimes they are. Let's look at the original Pirates of the Caribbean. I absolutely love watching that movie. I could watch it many times and still enjoy it. With that being said, I'm fully able to recognize that it's not the greatest movie ever made. It's not even the greatest movie I've ever seen, personally. But how does one weight enjoyment v.s. quality?

Oscar worthy? No. Great popcorn flick? Absolutely.

So we are left to decide how best to rank games. I've come to believe top games should be both fun and well-made. The difficulty arises when you have a game you played far more than any others, but it may not be the most polished game out there. There are two games I spent more hours playing this generation than any other: Skyrim and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

If reviewing those games though, they would not be at the top of my list. Both have their own set of technical issues and shortcomings; however, the fun factor was enough to keep me playing for hours on end. When it comes time to rank my favorite games, do I go by play time or how I would review each game? I ended up asking myself this question: if you could only have played 5 games from this generation, what would they be?

Couldn't have a top 5 list without it.

With this new qualifier, Skyrim, Journey, and Heavy Rain earn immediate spots. The latter two made me feel certain emotions I never have before while playing a video game. Heavy Rain will stick with me forever because of the choices I made to impact the story, whereas I'll never forget Journey because of the almost-spiritual experience it evokes. Skyrim earns its immediate spot because no game has ever pulled me into its world more. Within a few hours of starting the game, I wanted to go everywhere and explore as much as possible. 

After that, it gets more tricky. I'm still leaving off a number of incredibly fun games and a wide selection of polished games as well. One spot is almost assuredly going to Infamous 2 or Batman Arkham City. I platinumed both titles and enjoyed every minute of each.

The final spot? I'm still left with the entire Uncharted series, Red Dead Redemption, the Mass Effect series, Portal 2, Far Cry 3, Dishonored, the Call of Duty series and Super Mario Galaxy. Wow. That's no easy task. I can't imagine having missed any of those games this past generation. I'm narrowing it down to Uncharted 2, Red Dead Redemption, and Mass Effect 2 because they each had polish, amazing stories, and incredible gameplay. Truth be told, you can't go wrong with any of them, but I will have to say Uncharted 2 by an ever so slight margin. 

Takes the final spot in my top 5.

I'll leave you with my top 10 here (just because I have to give these other games recognition somehow). 

1. Journey
2. Skyrim
3. Batman Arkham City
4. Heavy Rain
5. Uncharted 2
6. Mass Effect 2
7. Red Dead Redemption
8. Infamous 2
9. Portal 2
10. Modern Warfare 2

What are your favorite games from this generation? Is it as hard for you as it was for me?