The Haul Report #14

I know, I normally do this on sunday mornings, but I moved it forward a few hours for a good reason.

Today, we had a small Lego gathering, and I promised not to blog about it before tomorrow or monday evening to not steal the spotlights from the lovely couple that organised it.

Add to it that I did some excellent trades on the event (well, through the FB group, with people that came to the lunch), so I could close off the week in style.

But let`s begin at, well, the beginning.  Last saturday, I received the texts that my pre-orders where in at the local Game Mania.  So tuesday afternoon I picked up my PS3 and Vita copies of the new Marvel Avengers game, and a duo of Silver Centurions to boot.

Next, it was time to open some BrickLink parcels.

The first was a small order for more red cheese slopes, to decorate my Corrington builds with.

Another order contained some tan parts, always handy, and 100+ small light bley studs for my `streets` in the same city.

The final one was the `used complete` set of the Captain`s Cabin for the Queen Anne from Pirates of the Carribean, a ship which you will see showing up at the end of this particular post...

I also received a parcel from a fellow Facebook`er, containing the parts for 5 `redcoats` and some additional torsos.  I had traded those with him for 5 bluecoats and some, well, bluecoat torsos.

My bi-monthly `magic bundle` order from Awesome Books arrived as well, containing some more novels for my Alexander Kent `Bolitho` series. 

And then the week slowed down, and we went to said meeting.

The first thing I picked up there was this small City set.  I bought it from someone that bought it double by accident, and for the price she actually paid for it, and it`ll end up as trade material itself, City not being my, but a lot of people out there, thing.

Then the trading started.  The first one was with the guy I also traded the Queen Anne with.  Ever back at the AFOL Night in october 2015, he had this at the side for me, in case I had some superhero polybag he fancied, and I had a Jor-El one lying on the side.  As we met today, we exchanged the bags at last :-)

But he also brought me the Queen Anne.  As I said before, the Helicarrier was a bit of a let down for me, and used complete on Bricklink it goes about the same rate as the Queen Anne these days.  So I had placed a post in the group that I wanted to trade, and trade only, the Helicarrier for the elegant sailing ship.  My dutch friend had one, he wanted the SHIELD behemoth, and we worked it out.  So the big pirate ship will soon be joining my Black Pearl on my shelves.

But I came back with another ship as well.  The `spanish armada` flagship, some flags and palmtrees, and a bunch of redcoats came to me in exchange for an old space set, which I traded with another member of the LCC Facebook group.

Because let`s face it, trading and exchanging is still a more enjoyable way to get your things together, especially older sets, then just selling something off and buying things you want.  And I also saw already in the group he couldn`t wait to build his spaceship until tomorrow, it`s already assembled and in his collection, so I`m happy, he`s happy, and we both have a great feeling about new gems in our collection.

And then saving for last, my Series 15 sealed box of Minifigures was brought along to the meeting as well, so one of the days I can open the box, crack the packages, and sort in the `figures I need`, `figures I`ll be using parts from` and `for trade` piles :-)

Well, that`s the whole shabang for this report, until next week!

Platinum: Ninjago - Shadow of Ronin

Ah, the latest game to platinum in the Lego collection, and for the moment the last one on the PS Vita I still had to do.

For some reason, the game was really hard to find here in Belgium, and only by chance did I obtain it through a used service on the local Game Mania storesite.  You see, I prefer physical games over downloads from the PS store, call me old fashioned.

The game handles the Ronin storyarc from the Ninjago cartoon, in which the mercenary, called *cough* Ronin, manages to steal the memories and dampen the powers of our heroes, putting them back at `day 1` unless they can retrieve their weapons.

Over 10 levels, each of 3 `sublevels`, you slowly regain these weapons and the brave ninja`s have to figure out a way to stop Ronin from destroying the plane of reality. 

The game is classical DS to Vita style, with short sublevels.  The good thing is, since recently you don`t have to start over if you die somewhere in a level. Another good thing is that there is no needless grind trophy in this one, as you don`t need to actually `buy` the things you unlock like characters and red bricks.  It is sufficient to only unlock those characters you`ll need for things like skeleton locks or acid paths, but even without a stud multiplier, you easily earn enough studs for those.

There are a few gold bricks that might be tricky to obtain and will require several replays of a level, but as soon as you obtain something in your free play runs, you can quit the level without losing any progress, no need to play them to the end.

And so the game can be put aside, and the Vita can relax for, well, about a week when the Marvel: Avengers games come out.

The Haul Report #2

Welcome to the second instalment of the weekly overview of haulings I had this week, and I must say, Dimensions is really the one that weighs through this time.

Well, those and a certain limited edition train...

The first thing I got was the Dimensions Scooby-Doo pack.  Together with the Wicked Witch and Doctor Who this seems to be by far the most popular of the sets for the game, and at the beginning of the past week it even went to completely `sold out` on the Lego site here, so I rushed to the local toystores and managed to grab me one after all.

The next thing added to my collection where two trades through MiniatureTrading.com, where I exchanged some figures from series 14 that I don`t have `use` for (I don`t collect full series, I just try and grab those I like in multiples for future moc plans) for two more Gargoyle`s and two more Spectre`s.

I also got his great gift from Guy Himber, reknowned for his Steampunk Lego book, and owner of Crzy Bricks who amongst others produced the Mouse Guard custom parts I featured a while ago.  On his site`s store, he offers the 5 promo cards for the STUDS collection for a few dollars, and including the Studley card as well.  So I ordered the set, but also received it from him a second time, signed, and including his card from the set, number 31, signed as well!

A few BrickLink orders found it`s way to my door as well, not surprisingly consisting mostly of Green and Grey blocks...

Tuesday was a nice day as well.  First, I managed to lat off one of my for trade items with the PSOne Rayman game, and I saw on the GameMania site they had AT LAST a copy of Ninjago: Shadows of Ronin for the Vita.  This game has been for some reason really hard to find in Belgium, but now I found a copy at last to continue in my eternal quest of platinumming all Lego games.

But DHL rang my bell a few hours later, with two small parcels.  This was my Kickstarter for the Lego Sherlock Holmes books.  Even though they will be availbale for the general public as well, these books came at a serious discount and early release if you backed the project, and all 8 volumes are now in my possession.  These are the original Conan-Doyle stories, but with the artwork recreated in Lego builds now.  I`ll enjoy reading those, and when the kid gets Sherlock as required reading probably in English in a few years, we have copies of all the stories now :-)

Friday saw the DHL man returning with another two parcels... the first one was a box with the two holiday sets for the winter, and the Portal 2 level pack for Dimensions.  The second, which I had ordered about an hour later as I checked and saw the Doctor Who set already on it few minutes past midnight and didn`t want to risk not getting it soon in the local store, contained bar that one also the Simpsons level pack.
And both brought along another one of those Christmas Trains, guess I can start the Translaplandic Trainline or something by now...

So this was a pretty spectacular week in Lego-esque finds and hauls if you ask me :-)

Next week the report will be a day or two later, as it`s BrickMania the coming weekend and I will be doing the event report and all first, moving both the Haul Report and the Inspirational Lego `columns` to tuesday due to that...

Platinum: PS Vita Lego Jurassic World

Back from a week of relaxation in the woods, and a lot of posts to make due to it, this is the first one already.

The latest game I platinumed, and once more one of the Lego franchise.

After having already platinummed it`s big PS3 brother, this holiday, thanks to rather rainy weather in the evenings, was the next one on the list.  Now, the Vita version is the same as the 3DS one, not the PS3 one, so it is a different experience.

The levels are shorter, and as usual contain a couple of tasks one must complete in order to advance.  Every level is divided in 3 sub levels, and 5 tasks per level.  But unfortunatly, every movie is now only 3 `levels` long, meaning a lot of equivalent levels from the bigger brother are cut out.

The `compensation` for not having big worlds to search and do things in but just small hubs are that in this version, you have 2 dinosaur paddocks that actually require you to mix and match some beasties together, unlike in the big version where the DNA lab didn`t really had any use.

It`s a small but enjoyable game, but in the end, this is one I can say the bigger version is far better!

Platunumed: VITA Lego Ninjago Nindroids

Well, one of the `benefits` of being in the south of France and having to hide for the sun, is that you can log in some game hours.

And about right on time before the recent second Ninjago game arrived, I finally platinumed the previous one.

The structure of the game is like the ones that started with Marvel Superheroes, in that you have to complete 10 challenges per level, and by doing these you unlock other characters, mini kits, and red stones.

The game is a bit of a hybrid in that you have a character wheel which you can choose your character for in free play, but the rest of the wheel is made up randomly, so it is often not possible to get through and clean up levels in one go.

The levels are a mixture of about 1 to 5 of traditional play versus vehicle controlled levels, so that isn`t to bad.  And I recommend the `Golden Cycle` level to boost up your gold levels to purchase everything, even at `autopilot` with the x4 and x8 stones (you`ll probably get those as soon as regular play) combined with invunerability this level gets you around 2 mill per 3 minutes of doing nothing.

It does come with a `hub` where the store and the likes are located, as well as the Dojo where you get to do the almost as traditional survival trophies.

All in all, not the worst of the Lego games on the VITA system, and it comes with a lot of intersecting movie sequences advancing you through the storyline.

Now, time to get myself the second one I guess...

Platinum: Lego Batman 3 - Beyond Gotham (Vita)

The first of the remaining Lego games, which I vowed to try and platinum all during 2015, has been succesfully rounded off.

Batman 3 is the same as the 3DS game, and a `toned down` version of the Playstation game.  Though the storyline is the same and comes with the same in between level movies, the whole gameplay is different.

It has improvements over the previous incarnations of the `challenge` games, a trend that started with the Marvel game and is now the regular going for the handheld games.  You have to do different challenges in each level, and complete those for gaining access to red bricks and characters.

The huge leap forward this game makes though is that there is no longer `instant death`, in that if your smashed, you no longer need to restart the level.

Also, we now get decent hubs, something already touched upon by Ninjago, but far more expanded and interactable now.

On the downside, there are only 5 instead of 10 challenges per level now.  Each chapter still consists of 3 levels, so like it`s bigger brother, you get 15 chapters, good for 45 levels of quick gameplay.

The storyline remains of course the same, starting with a Brainiac attack on Earth, before evolving in a campaign along all the Lantern worlds, something a Green Lantern lover like myself can only cheer for in joy!

It was an enjoyable game, and a not to hard grind wise platinum, but as with all Lego games, you will usually be playing each level 3 times on average.

And the character I used the most?  Weeellll...

Anyhow, that means one down, eight more games to platinuminise (or something like that...) before the tally goes up again with possible 2015 releases ;-)

The Plan week 34

This week, or more precisely this weekend`s beginnings, has been a happy time for the inner gamer.

Though before that I was just playing Ninjago on the Vita, the latest of Lego inspired games, I managed to clock in some other thingies as well.

Ninjago: Nindroids is the newest 3DS / Vita Lego game, based on the popular franchise in it`s rebooted line.  I already managed to complete the full story line, and am now slowly working my way to the platinum, something I aim to complete during the off time at next weekends family outing.

But yesterday was the top for my gaming activities.  The GF played through the second episode of the Season 2 of The walking Dead, and Kenny is back!  Thought dead in the first series, he made a reapparance, and we also get to meet the first character from the small 400 days episodes interlude.  Bonnie is the first character to appear from this short series of tales, apparently now a member of this season`s antagonist, Carver.

Some intrigues have already been layed bare, but there are still a lot of secrets lying hidden, so I`m looking forward to when she continues the play.

Another great update was there yesterday as well for Minifigures Online.  A new world is openend, Dino Rise, and yeah, as the title says it is all centered around Dinosaurs and the Dino tracker from the collectible series.  When this post is done, I`m jumping in and fully start playing the level ;-)

Changes to the game are most notably that the level cap has risen again, not the upgrades bar though for now, and that you can`t level anymore in the very low level areas like the Pirate Island as you won`t gain XP from those.  Not a bad decision at all, at max level, those where a breeze to knock together all the needed XP to reach the cap...

The first series 12 minifig I got was with my free bag a month due to membership, the Spooky Girl.  And creepy she is indeed, as one of her powers is transforming into a giant spider...

For the coming week, I`m going to barge into this portal and try to complete Dino World and max out my levels, as well as hopefully, finally get that final episode of Wolf Among Us played!

Until the next time, unless a Walker or a T-Rex get to me first!

Lego The Hobbit Vita - platinum trophy gained

Though only the second platinum trophy I obtained this year after the Vita edition of The Lego Movie, The Hobbit is a bit different of the new style of Lego games on the handheld consoles.

Being the same version of the game as the 3DS edition, these days the Lego games consists of short levels in which you need to complete 10 challenges each, a design that started with Marvel Superheroes last year.

The Hobbit is different from them in small ways though.

The first difference is that the levels are longer again, taking between 5 to 10 minutes each to complete instead of the ultra shorts of the previous games that use this design engine.

Secondly, there is an open world HUB, in which you unlock paths as you complete missions, challenges, builds and the likes.  This comes however with a downside, as the questgivers (those people you turn in your treasure item that you can find in the levels themselves) are along these paths.  But there is no world map like in it`s bigger PS brothers, so I spend hours yesterday to find that last NPC that gave a mithril block (needed to craft builds and red bricks) to platinum the game.

In the levels, like in the Movie game, the character wheel is back as well.  You can freely switch characters during the levels in order to try and complete more challenges in one go.

All in all, the game took me about 16 `game hours` to complete to platinum, which is a nice amount for a handheld game after all, and it was a lot of fun.

Okay, I might be biased on the settings and the likes of course, but since they started using the new style of mini levels with challenges system for the Vita (and by extention, the 3DS), this definitly has been one of the better games around.

The Lego Movie - PS Vita: the 26th Platinum

It has been almost 6 months since my last platinum, as my PS gametime dropped significantly after the cooldown period from the PS Challenge last year, but with the recent new wave of Lego games, I`ve been playing again on occassion.

Yes I like those little Lego games, and not only because they are Lego, but just their cheerful style and in game humour.

Now, this game is like the Marvel one, containing 15 levels all made up of 3 sub levels with 10 challenges each.

It does have however two significant changes: first and most enjoyable, the character wheel is back, so during free play you can rotate again between all your unlocked characters on your roster, making it not necessary like in Marvel to replay levels over and over again, each time with a different character.

The second change are a new sort of levels, `free falls`, in which a minifig is either falling down the level and you steer to the needed points, or drives / flies around in a vehicle (the Batmobile, Benny`s Spaceship, etc) and you have to shoot things for getting the challenges done.

Like Chima, it is not needed to actually complete the game to 100% to finish (though I ended up around 96%) as the trophy list includes the usual suspects like collect all minifigs, all minikits, all red bricks etc, but not one for all challenges like the Marvel game.  This means technically there are about 4 - 5 challenges per level that aren`t really needed to complete, even though you will be automatically doing most of them while hunting `those that matter`.  And yes, I`ve mostly been playing with Benny.  Not only for being Benny, but his special attack where he spins around firing his lasergun is also damn easy to clear mobs of enemies!

The graphics are good for a Vita game, even though the game differs a LOT from it`s bigger brother, and like the PS3 version is interlaced with cutscenes straight from the movie .

Yes, that is including SPACESHIP! SPACESHIP! SPACESHIP!

Playing very casually, bar perhaps the last two days when I started focussing on platting it and aiming for `just that one more challenge`, it took me 2 weeks and 5 days to complete, but I have been switching on the console between this one and The Hobbit, the next goal to add to the tally one of these weeks.

Now, I`m first going to spend a few days in Azeroth again to blow of steam...