Friday, August 19, 2011

Alice in 3 Parts: Part 3

III. Final Thoughts

Took a while for me to get to this post, but I'm bound and determined to get it out. My final thoughts on Alice: Madness Returns.

I managed to platinum this one -- it wasn't difficult, and it helped that I liked the game enough to try. Generally once I beat a game that's it. I'd rather move on to something else. But this became my twelfth (? or thirteenth?) platinum, with only one trophy really causing me a little frustration: Neighslayer. Hitting four enemies with a hobby horse ground smash was no picnic when the area of attack was so small. There are many competing rumors and thought online regarding strategies on how to get the job done, and if I remember correctly, this was the last trophy that I got for the game just because it was so frustratingly difficult. People also claim that this trophy is glitched though I don't really buy it. It's easy to shout 'glitch,' when you can't seem to get the trophy no matter how hard you try.

I read rumors that attacking Bolterflies and slimes won't net you the trophy. I can't vouch for the flies (though I don't see how a ground attack would be able to hit flying enemies in any case), but I got the trophy to pop by taking on a group of slimes.

My strategy for Neighslayer: I actually lifted this from someone on the ps3trophies forum. First I'd suggest attempting this trophy on Nightmare, since it's easier to hit things without killing them with your first or second strike of the hobby horse. Head to Chapter 3. After the second scroll, there is a cube puzzle. Once the puzzle is completed you'll enter a room with a bunch of slithering ruins in it. Throw a Clockwork bomb into the mix and let the slimes clump up around it before you let loose. It might take a few tries, but there are plenty of slimes in this room. I got it on my third or fourth group of slimes. If you run out of slimes, restart from your last checkpoint and try again.

After watching my husband play through bits of this game, I realized I really enjoyed the first chapter and parts of the second, fourth, and fifth. I didn't care much for the chapter centering around the Orient. It was long, and boring, with annoying, uninteresting enemies. The art style is still what blows me away about the game, especially the character design for Alice.