Playstation Wrap-up 2020

At long last, Playstation has released personalized statistics for the year on 2020. (See yours here, through March 2, 2021!) They had done so at the end of 2019, so I was curious as to whether they'd do it again. After a month of wondering, my prayers were answered this morning.

Listen, 2020 featured a global pandemic, my shifting to working from home, as well as six weeks of paternity leave, so I was stuck at home most of the year and I spent quite a bit of time playing video games. I would be ashamed, but hey - I was stuck at home like the rest of you. It's not like I could go outside and do anything. Being the stat freak that I am, I love crap like this. No regrets.

More than anything else, I'm just blogging about this so I have the information in writing somewhere where it's not going to expire. Join me, if you will, for a look back on my year in gaming.

Games Played:

One of the first games I played in 2020 was the remastered PS4 version of "Ghostbusters: The Video Game." That, coincidentally was one of the first games I ever played on the Playstation 3, years ago. Over the past year, I played a wide array of games, from sports games to third-person, all the way to farming and city-building simulators, there was certainly a lot of variety in my entertainment. Playstation officially reports that I played 59 different games last year, but here are 20 of my favorites:

• Stardew Valley (PS4)
• Far Cry Primal (PS4)
• Mass Effect 3 (PS3)
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (PS4)
• Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4 remaster)
• NBA 2K20 (PS4)
• Kingdom Hearts III (PS4)
• MLB The Show 20 (PS4)
• Back to the Future: The Game (PS4)
• Mass Effect: Andromeda (PS4)
• Cities: Skylines (PS4)
• The Outer Worlds (PS4)
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (PS4 remaster)
• Marvel's Avengers (PS4)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)
• Fallout 3 (PS3)
• Star Wars: Squadrons (PS4)
• Astro's Playroom (PS5)
• Marvel's Spider-man: Miles Morales (PS5)
• Planet Coaster (PS5)

Top Games:

Unsurprisingly, MLB The Show 20 topped my list of most frequently played games, just like MLB The Show 19 did the year prior. I have a tendency to put a ton of time into my baseball games, and 2020 was no different.

2020 was also the year where I went through on the promise I made to play through the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise, as I've blogged about several times in the past (you can find all of my previous posts on that subject by clicking here). It comes as no surprise, then, that "Kingdom Hearts - HD 1.5+2.5 Remix" is listed as my second most-played game; I believe that disc had like three games on it, so it spent plenty of time nestled into my PS4 disc drive.

NBA 2K20 rounds out my top three, which is not totally unexpected, as the game's "daily check-in" feature kept me coming back most days for free login rewards - plus, I played the game a ton during NBA season to get my Utah Jazz fix.

Other games that clocked a ton of hours but didn't crack Playstation's "Wrap-up" list likely would have included the following:

• Stardew Valley
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2
• Kingdom Hearts III
• Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4)
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2
• Batman: Arkham City (PS4 remaster)
• Red Dead Redemption 2

Total Hours Played:

Wow. 2,419 hours... That's, um, like 100 days of having the Playstation systems booted up. I'll justify it by saying this: Playstation likely logged just that - the number of hours that I had a game running, not the actual amount of time I was physically playing. That means that if I paused a game to eat dinner or turned off the TV to run to the store without logging out of the game, the clock kept ticking.

As far as the number of days played, I can chalk that one up to the aforementioned daily check-ins on NBA 2K. Often times, I would hop on for literally like two minutes to get my login reward, then power the system back down, so I find this stat to be somewhat misleading.

Regardless, if that's the quantity of time I'm spending with my consoles, I'm getting a pretty good return on investment. Thanks, quarantine!

Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS4 remaster), Far Cry 3: Classic Edition (PS4) and The Outer Worlds would have been games in the "Action-Adventure" genre, so I spent my fair share of hours shooting 'em up and slashing 'em down, as it were. That's a lot of hours.

Total Trophies:

"Trophies" are in-game achievements and goals, such as "Defeat [X Number] of Enemies," "Beat the Game on Hard Difficulty," "Hit a Home Run with a Player from Each Side of the Plate in the Same Game," and so on and so forth. To say that, in the past several years, I've become more focused on what gamers call "trophy hunting" would be accurate.

Platinum trophies are an indicator that one has completed all the goals for a given game - 100% completion, so to speak. Here are the 15 games for which I obtained the elusive platinum trophy during 2020:

• Star Wars - Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4)
• Far Cry Primal
• The Sims 4 (PS4)
• WWE SmackDown vs RAW 2010 (PS3)
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2
• Monster Jam: Battlegrounds (PS3)
• Kingdom Hearts III
• Assassin's Creed Syndicate
• Far Cry 3: Classic Edition
• MLB The Show 20
• WWE 2K20
• Back to the Future: The Game
• Fallout 3
• Need for Speed (PS4)
• Astro's Playroom

In addition, I also got 100% completion on the following games, which did not have an associated platinum trophy:

• Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage
• AdVenture Capitalist

Hooray for me.

Playstation 5:

As if it were a literal Christmas miracle, I beat the odds and somehow, some way was lucky enough to get my hands on a Playstation 5; it was delivered to me on Christmas Eve. Once it was delivered, I got a chance to play it a handful of times in the final week of 2020, so the sample size is quite small. Nevertheless, Sony provided me some insight, as follows:

Editor's note: There is no way that I got 141 PS5 trophies between December 24 - 31. Not a chance. Not sure where that number came from.

Playstation Plus and Online Gaming:

Playstation Plus is a subscription service that not only allows users to play online against other gamers but also provides several free games each month. In 2020, I took advantage of downloading 19 of those games. Thanks for the savings!

I very rarely play games online (cooperatively or competitively) with others because I don't like getting my butt handed to me by children. However, it looks like I spent seven hours playing the highly divisive, online-only Fallout 76, likely with my brother. It didn't happen often, which is a shame. We had pretty high hopes for that game - hopes that were not entirely fulfilled.

Analysis and Conclusion:

After chatting with some, apparently, judgmental co-workers about these stats, one of them ran my numbers and accused me of playing an average of six and a half hours of Playstation per day last year. He told me not to tell my wife. I subsequently pulled out my calculators and verified his math. It is inconceivable that those numbers are accurate. Granted, there are definitely some days when I play multiple hours of video games, but I definitely did not play an average of six hours per day, every single day of the year - not unless the "hours played" is also counting the number of hours my console was running Netflix and Hulu because I totally got my money's worth out of my streaming service subscriptions during the quarantine.

In conclusion, I'm not sure that one stat is completely accurate, but other than that, at least I feel like I'm getting some good entertainment value out of my Playstations. Everybody has a hobby, right? Nobody would judge me if I said that I read 40 books last year. Reading books, watching shows, playing games... It's all pretty much the same thing, right? My family comes first, but I see nothing wrong with having a little digital entertainment on the side. Judge away, haters.

My video gaming in 2020 took me to outer space, through plenty of classic Disney locations, to the Old West, through a re-imagined continuation of my favorite movie trilogy, to sports arenas across the country (even when COVID wouldn't allow me to watch games in real life) and beyond. I played some incredible games that told fantastic stories and spent a few nights playing others that I wish I wouldn't have. All in all, 2020 will probably go down as the year in which I spent more time playing video games in my entire life. I'd never wish another pandemic upon us, but, during the one that we got last year, at least I made a pretty sizeable dent in my ever-growing backlog of games.

*****

What are your gaming memories from 2020? Which games did you enjoy? Which didn't you care for? Which games are you playing (or looking forward to playing) in 2021? I'd love to get your thoughts in the comments section below, on Twitter (here and here) or, as always, on Facebook.

Until next time.

5 Things That Saved Me During Quarantine

It goes without saying that 2020 was a weird, weird year. I, like many others, had a bunch of plans that just didn't work out due to the coronavirus pandemic, like a baseball trip to Chicago and a Santana/Earth, Wind & Fire concert. There were movies I wanted to see, things I wanted to do and a years-long streak of going to the gym that I would have preferred to keep intact. Instead, I found myself quarantined at home, often forbidden by the government from leaving - and when I could leave the house, it wasn't without a very stylish facemask.

However, there were actually a lot of really good things that took place in 2020 that - dare I say it? - wouldn't have happened under normal circumstances. It has warmed my cold, dead heart to see so many friends and acquaintances acknowledging on social media that, although 2020 pretty much sucked, there was also a whole lot to be thankful for. While I feel like I should reserve some of my more personal experiences for a much more private setting, I thought it would be fun to take a second and jot down a few of the fun things that blessed my life while stuck at home in 2020.

1. Video Games

First and foremost, I need to give an enormous shoutout to Animal Crossing, which has truly been a cornerstone in The A-Towns' quarantine experience.

I'll never forget the night of March 11, 2020, when the Utah Jazz vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game was postponed after it was determined that Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. That was an event that changed the world as we knew it. Professional sports seemed to be the first thing that shut down, but businesses and other public venues were soon to follow. Shortly thereafter, my place of employment sent everybody home and I was stuck inside for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" was released for the Nintendo Switch on March 20, which, I think was, like, my first Friday at home. I hurried over to the nearest Target to pick up the new game and got to work on my island. I was chopping wood and catching fish for days on end, and I loved it. I played the original "Animal Crossing" growing up, so having a new next-gen version of the game was fun. Eventually, my wife, Miranda, took an interest in the game and I set her up with a character in the game.

After that, I didn't see her for three weeks.

Kidding, of course, but she did pick up on the game pretty quickly and, before we knew it, we were tag-teaming the island of Nookton and curating a place for our resident neighbors to enjoy.

By nature, "Animal Crossing" can become a somewhat tedious, chore-driven form of recreation, but with Miranda and me checking into the island and maintaining its upkeep on a nearly daily basis, it gave us something to talk about and something on which we could collaborate and work together. It has also brought us great joy that my sister received "ACNH" for Christmas, and I have had fun hopping online to visit her and give her tips over the past few days. Thanks, "Animal Crossing"!

Editor's note: Two other games we have loved playing together on the Switch were "Stardew Valley" and "FUSER."

*****

I also had plenty of opportunities to catch up on my Playstation backlog over the past nine months. I'm a man who enjoys great deals, and I'm also a long-time subscriber to the "Playstation Plus" program, which grants free games to users each month, so I've accumulated quite a wealth of video games over the years. The inability to go outdoors for entertainment left me at home with nothing but time on my hands, so I tried my best to make sure I got my money's worth out of all the Playstation games that have been sitting around, gathering dust.

Some of the games I enjoyed the most during quarantine were the "Kingdom Hearts" franchise, the freshly remastered "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2," "The Outer Worlds," "MLB The Show 20," "Marvel's Avengers" and "Red Dead Redemption 2," which I FINALLY had time to go back and play.

Being the OCD, completionist freak that I am, I also made an effort to fully complete as many games as I could. During the pandemic, I got the ever-elusive platinum trophy (or 100% completion) on the following Playstation games:

• "LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2"
• "Monster Jam: Battlegrounds"
• "Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage"
• "Kingdom Hearts III"
• "Assassin's Creed Syndicate"
• "Far Cry 3: Classic Edition"
• "AdVenture Capitalist"
• "MLB The Show 20"
• "WWE 2K20"
• "Back to the Future: The Game"
• "Batman: Arkham City"
• "Fallout 3"
• "Need For Speed"
• "Astro's Playroom"

So yeah, video games kept me pretty busy, and I don't regret it at all. It's not like I could have gone outside to do something else instead. Oh, and despite all the crap I said about the PS5 launch (it was a disaster), Walmart and FedEx made me a very happy little nerd by delivering one to me on Christmas Eve, which was a modern day Christmas miracle, so I really can't complain too much.

2. DDP Yoga

Before COVID closed the country down, I had been going to the gym at least once a week for like 10 years. That's not an exaggeration; it's true. I know you probably couldn't tell by looking at me, but I tried my best to stay in shape. However, once gyms closed, I couldn't get out and pump iron anymore, which was a major bummer for me. I tried to cheat the system by jokingly driving to the gym, getting out, doing a couple push-ups and then checking in on the Swarm app, which I use to monitor how often I get out of the house, but Swarm eventually stopped counting "check-in streaks," despite my best efforts, so I stopped going altogether.

During the pandemic months, I have only gone back to the gym one time since they re-opened with safety precautions (allegedly) in place. Beside myself, I only saw one other patron (excluding employees) who was wearing a mask, so I guess I haven't felt totally safe to return until this virus is a bit more under control. Muscleheads are weirdos and generally cannot be trusted, in terms of personal hygiene and sanitation.

Without a gym to go to, I've had to get creative with my exercise. More often than not, this has meant that I turn to my old friend Diamond Dallas Page's "DDP Yoga" program for home fitness. Page, a 60-something WWE Hall of Famer, created his home workout regimen to help people lose weight and recover from sports injuries, but Miranda and I have used it as a suitable replacement for our VASA memberships, which we really should call in and put a freeze on before they continue to charge our monthly fees again.

DDP Yoga has helped us stay relatively "in-shape" while quarantined, and has been a nice activity for us a couple times a week after work. Admittedly, we haven't done it quite as well as we probably should have, but we've supplemented with occasional walks around our condominium parking lot and other miscellaneous exercises. Certainly, I'm no yoga expert, but I can absolutely tell an improvement in my balance and flexibility between the time I started working out with DDPY and now, so I'll count that as a win.

3. Streaming Services, Virtual Fan Experiences and Theater Trips

When Miranda and I first got married, I floated out the idea that, at some point, we should have a "movie month," where we watched one movie every night for an entire month. Sounded like fun at the time.

Now, nine months into a global pandemic, that doesn't sound as fun as I thought a year ago. During quarantine, I have literally kept track of everything that I watched. Granted, I didn't think we'd still be essentially locked down for this long, but I thought it would be interesting to see how much stuff I could watch until they sent me back to the office.

Hang on a second. Let me pull up my list.

It's 223 bullet points long, including movies, seasons of TV shows, documentaries and made-for-TV concerts. Two hundred and twenty three. Holy crap.

I've binge-watched a lot of great stuff, including catching up on some old series that I never finished; rewatching some stuff that Miranda had never seen; watching live shows like "The Masked Singer," "Survivor" and even "The Bachelorette." I've seen a handful of movies and shows edited for content, thanks to VidAngel. I've DVRed classic movies that were new to me, like "Saving Private Ryan," "Gladiator" and "Rebel Without a Cause." Like many of you, I thoroughly enjoyed Season 2 of "The Mandalorian" from the comfort of my living room. I'm a far more cultured, in-the-know person now, after spending so much time on the couch, and I most definitely got some great value out of my streaming subscriptions this year.

*****

I was a "virtual fan" a couple times during 2020! You may have seen me during a Utah Jazz playoff game or (briefly) on WWE programming ("Smackdown!" and "205 Live"). You may not have seen me on "The Masked Singer" because they totally botched their virtual fan experience, but hey, we did get to watch the first performance of "Group C" in Season 4. They were not good - clearly the worst of the three groups this season, but I guess it was kind of interesting, nevertheless.

*****

One aspect of entertainment that we can thank COVID-19 for is straight-to-streaming movie releases - something that seemed unfathomable a year ago. During the pandemic, my family and I have been treated to "Bill & Ted Face the Music," "Soul" and "Wonder Woman 1984," and we even forked over $30 to watch the decent-but-mostly-unnecessary "Mulan" remake on Disney+ one time.

One thing I really had fun with during the pandemic was being able to venture out a couple times to a real-life movie theater (it's a big building we used to go to when we wanted to eat popcorn and watch movies with our friends, back before the plague). When things gradually started to open back up, we found a theater about 30 minutes south of where we live that was showing old movies for super-cheap. They were even showing my all-time favorite movies, the "Back to the Future" trilogy, and Miranda mentioned that we should check it out since I'd never seen those movies on the big screen. Over the course of a few weeks, we saw all three movies, socially distanced from the half-dozen other people in the theater, for less than $10, total. It was amazing and definitely a highlight of 2020 for me.

On three other occasions, my family rented out a theater to watch a movie together. That's right - just me, my parents and my siblings' families, all alone to watch "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," "Ghostbusters" and "Hocus Pocus." The theaters took all the necessary precautions and treated us like VIPs the entire time. I can't thank the Megaplex and Cinemark theaters that gave us that thrice-in-a-lifetime experience. Again, that was something that we probably never would have done without the pandemic paving the way.

4. #GiveThanks

Arguably, my favorite week this year other than Christmas was the week leading up to Thanksgiving. When President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a challenge for members of the church - and those of any other religion or background - to spread gratitude on their social media accounts, my Facebook and Instagram feeds were overcome with fun posts from those I follow. I got to see what made my friends and family happy, which provided a welcome break from the doom and gloom of election season, and helped me catch up with people I hadn't heard from in years. It also gave me a chance to reflect on the things that I was thankful for, from my family to my education and the many opportunities I've been given to work in journalism and with comic conventions. It was always fun to wake up each day and think about what I would be posting before the sun went down, and it made it so I actually looked forward to getting on my phone and mindlessly scrolling through what everyone else was talking about. For those of you who participated in the #GiveThanks challenge, thank you for making my life better during 2020.

5. Parenthood/Working From Home

Finally, I am thankful for parenthood - and no, I'm not talking about the TV show "Parenthood," although we did watch Season 1 a few weeks ago.

The year 2020 will always be one of my favorite years, if for no other reason than that it gave me and Miranda our first child, Stockton. Every day, I am still in awe that we have a little roommate - and that Miranda actually let me name him after my favorite basketball player. Stockton is such a perfect little boy. He is the best little buddy we ever could have asked for, and he has brought us such great happiness and joy. He is cuter and way funnier than we ever could have imagined, and we just love kissing his little cheeks. He is our snuggle bug, our movie and TV pal, and he loves staying up late with Daddy to play video games or read books. Speaking of reading books, we have spent quite a bit of time reading to Stockton lately, whether it has been a book by our old family friend John Cena or a story out of Stockton's brand new Marvel storybook. He is generally a very happy dude, and more than anything, he loves being held - by anyone!

Parenthood has been a wild ride for us so far. We're trying our best to learn what to do to take care of our baby, and I think we're actually doing ok! It has definitely taught me to put the child's needs first, above my own, which means:

• I quite often can no longer play online video games that cannot be paused
• Several times a week, I'm not going to bed until at least 1 AM
• Stockton likes being held by someone who is standing up, to the dismay of my lower back and legs

*****

When Walmart first told us that we were going to have to work from home because of the virus, I honestly thought we'd be out of the office for maybe two weeks, then we'd be right back. Obviously, that didn't happen, and COVID-19 has turned into a much bigger deal than I thought it was. Working from home has been an interesting deal. The work I do can totally be done virtually, so that hasn't been bad, but I do miss the ability to walk up to somebody's face if they haven't responded to my Slack message for 45 minutes and make them give me an answer on the spot. I also miss the free snacks they gave us in the office. Other than that, being away from the office really hasn't been miserable.

Working from home has saved me, undoubtedly, hundreds of dollars on gas. Instead of filling up bi-weekly, now I refuel about once a month. There have been a couple weeks where I haven't even gone outside in days. That kind of sucks, but at least it's an inexpensive lifestyle.

Setting up shop on the couch or in my home office has given me the ability to turn on the TV (mostly as background noise) while I work, without interruption. It's a nice way to multi-task while still hitting my numbers and getting stuff done for my bosses.

The best thing of all is that I've been able to spend so much time with Miranda since March, and with Stockton since October. I got six weeks of paternity leave when he was first born, and they're allowing me six more to use any time within the first year of the child's life. I'll take those in a couple weeks, once Miranda has to go back to work. Right now, they're saying we will continue to work remotely until at least July 5, 2021. Of course, they'll play things by ear and adjust that date, if necessary, but it most likely means that I'll get to play Mr. Mom to Stockton for a few more months (simultaneously saving a ton of money that we would have had to spend on child care in a non-COVID world). My wallet thanks my employer, and Mr. Sam Walton, the veritable founder of the feast. We are incredibly thankful and count ourselves blessed that Miranda and I both were able to continue working throughout all the craziness 2020 threw our way.

No, 2020 was not even close to the year we all wanted. The holidays all fell on weekends, "twenty-twenty" was a nice round number, there were plenty of vision puns to be made, but COVID-19 wrecked us all and forced us into uncomfortable situations where we all had to make adjustments. No, things didn't magically revert back to normal at the stroke of midnight, early this morning. Sometimes, you just can't always get what you want.

But taking a page out of President Nelson's book and looking for the positive memories that were made along the way really goes to show that 2020 will go down as one of the most memorable stretches of our entire lives.

Here's hoping that we can do a bit more traveling, a lot more socializing and maybe even attend a couple sporting events and concerts in 2021.

Happy new year from everybody here at Signs of the Times!

Red Dead Redemption 2: Photo Blog

When "Red Dead Redemption 2" hit store shelves back in 2018, I knew I wanted to get it. I loved its Playstation 3 predecessor, "Red Dead Redemption," so I had to dive back into the American West on PS4. I'd soon come to find out that it's a very drawn out story, and it constantly wore me out when I played it. I've seen some people refer to RDR2 as a "horse simulator," and I totally get where they're coming from. It's a very realistic and detailed game, and, it turns out, that's not always a blast to play. I gave up on it very early on but kept the game, in hopes that I would someday return to play it.

Fast forward to two years later. Twenty-twenty, the Year of Our Lord. A global pandemic hit and we all got quarantined. On top of that, my wife and I had a baby and I went on paternity leave for six weeks. We sit around and watch a lot of TV and stuff, since we can't really go anywhere else for our entertainment. This gave me a lot of time to catch up on video games, and I figured that there was no time like the present to hunker down and play some good old "Red Dead Redemption."

I finally beat the game last night, and I think I'd like to write an actual blog about some of the wild stuff that I ran into while I played, but I'll save that for a later date. For now, I'd just like to post some of my favorite photos that I took during the game. Be advised that some spoilers may follow, including one, like, really major one... so if you're like me and are hanging on until you have the inner gumption to play the game, beware of that.

If you're still riding with me after that warning, I'm going to go ahead and post the photos here, without any captions. Take a look, if you feel so inclined, partner!

For more "Red Dead Redemption" content, keep it here with The Underground. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter (here and here). Now go ahead and giddy on up, partner.

Proposed Roster for "Playstation All-Stars" 2

Well, unless you've been hiding under a rock somewhere for the past week, you've probably heard that the Playstation 5 launched on November 12. Similarly, you probably heard that release was nothing short of an abject failure. The new, next-generation console sold out from all major retailers within minutes and is now virtually impossible to find anywhere. How on earth a major company like Sony (and Microsoft, who experienced the same problems with their new Xbox models) could have years to prepare for the release of a product they must have known would be in incredibly high demand, then fail to deliver on such a massive scale truly boggles the mind.

Eventually, at some point in the near or distant future, I will finally get my hands on a PS5, but for now I must wait like the rest of the hundreds of thousands of peasants who failed to successfully pre-order a console this week. Until then, all I can do is dream. And while I'm dreaming, I figured I'd write a blog about video games.

Over the past few months, I've been trying to make my way through the gigantic backlog of Playstation games that I either never touched or never finished. One such game was a Playstation 3 game called "Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale." Originally released in 2012, "All-Stars" is a fighting game featuring various characters from Playstation franchises, such as "God of War," "Uncharted" and "Infamous," among others. The characters fight each other through a handful of 2-D battle arenas until only one is left standing. If you've ever played Nintendo's "Super Smash Bros." series, it's basically the same thing.

All in all, it's not a terrible game, but it certainly feels outdated in 2020. Here is the original roster of characters:

• Big Daddy (BioShock)
• Cole MacGrath (Infamous)
• Colonel Radec (Killzone)
• Dante (DmC: Devil May Cry)
• Emmett Graves (Starhawk)
• Evil Cole MacGrath (Infamous)
• Fat Princess (Fat Princess)
• Heihachi Mishima (Tekken)
• Isaac Clarke (Dead Space)
• Jak and Daxter (Jak and Daxter)
• Kat and Dusty (Gravity Rush)
• Kratos (God of War)
• Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
• Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
• Parappa (PaRappa the Rapper)
• Raiden (Metal Gear)
• Ratchet & Clank (Ratchet & Clank)
• Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)
• Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil)
• Sly Cooper (Sly Cooper)
• Spike (Ape Escape)
• Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)
• Toro Inoue (Doko Demo Issyo)
• Zeus (God of War)

While I was familiar with many of the characters in the original roster, there were a few that I didn't recognize at all. As I played, I couldn't help but wonder what the roster would look like if the series was rebooted today. Some of the original cast should certainly make a return appearance, as "All-Stars" included some of Playstation's most iconic franchises. Here are the five characters I'd keep:

Big Daddy (BioShock)

Big Daddy remains one of the most iconic-looking villains in recent video game history, with his signature helmet and drill. His brute force and sheer power make him a significant threat in any type of close combat brawl. Throw in some tag team attacks with his faithful Little Sisters and you've got a powerhouse combatant that must be included on the roster.

Kratos (God of War)

Kratos is arguably the face of the "Playstation exclusive." His "God of War 4" received nearly universal praise from critics and fans alike, cementing his spot in a would-be "Playstation All-Stars" sequel. His violent style of combat would undoubtedly make him a top choice for gamers. The inclusion of his new companion, Atreus, would be an obvious update from the previous game, and would make for some impressive team attacks and special maneuvers.

Nathan Drake (Uncharted)

The less M-rated face of Playstation is none other than Nathan Drake, the ultra-popular treasure hunter from the "Uncharted" series. His ability to mix hand-to-hand combat with firearms and explosives would make him one of the more versatile fighters in a game such as this. It would also be nice to use the "Uncharted 4" model of the character, as opposed to the slightly younger version used in the original "All-Stars" game.

Ratchet & Clank (Ratchet & Clank)

The quirky companionship is about to receive the Playstation 5 treatment, with "Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart" set to release in 2021, so adding them to a potential "All-Stars" reboot is a no-brainer. The ability to use both characters simultaneously would set them apart from other fighters, and their futuristic space-shooter style would be unique from other more realistic characters with similar skill sets.

Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)

Sackboy is perhaps the most lovable character ever to grace the screens of a Playstation game, and his ability to delve into the LittleBigPlanet "Imagisphere" to conjure up any fathomable skill could breed an endless plethora of options. Spunky, goofy and limitlessly agile, Sackboy is one of the most underrated heroes from the original game, and he's looking to do damage in a next-gen iteration of "All-Stars."

New Characters

After much thought and contemplation, I came up with 15 brand-new fighters to include in an updated roster. Here they are for your consideration, in alphabetical order:

Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn)

The red-haired heroine from the 2017 smash hit "Horizon Zero Dawn" is a must for the "Playstation All-Stars" sequel. Her expert marksmanship with ranged weapons, combined with her proclivity for setting traps, would make her a versatile threat in a game like this. She also has upper-echelon agility and speed, making her an instant frontrunner the most popular new character. Her override skill and Focus tool would also make for an interesting and robust combat moveset.

Cayde-6 (Destiny)

The wisecracking, sharpshooting leader of the Hunter class would certainly be an out-of-this-world addition to the roster. Give the man a couple space-pistols and let him hurl sarcastic comments at his opponents while zipping across the screen on his Sparrow bike or using his Ghost companion in a fit of explosive mayhem. I'd love to whoop on some competition with the legend known as Cayde-6.

Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot)

Probably the most glaring old-school omission from the original roster is the genetically modified animal known as Crash Bandicoot. Crash originally spun his way into pop culture in the mid-90s as what some might call the original breakout star for Playstation. Throughout the years, he has appeared in a variety of roles, including go-kart racing. He's Sony's answer to Mario, essentially. There is no question that he deserves a spot on the new roster.

Commander Shepard (Mass Effect)

Another franchise conspicuous by its absence in the original "All-Stars" game is "Mass Effect." The alien shoot-em-up saga is getting a next-gen remaster in 2021, so including Shepard should be completely timely. Armed with an Omni Tool and a generous selection of guns, Shepard would be a slick new combatant in the battle royale. One unique feature would be the option to play as either gender, as is the case in the "Mass Effect" games; players would be able to choose between the male and female version of the protagonist in the character selection menu.

Connor (Detroit: Become Human)

"Detroit: Become Human" is one of the most fascinating (albeit profane) video games I have ever played. It follows the story of Connor, a conflicted AI police investigator, as he hunts down deviant androids. The complex storytelling was fascinating and Connor became one of the most interesting characters I have ever come across in a Playstation game. How, exactly, he would fit into a fighting game such as "Playstation All-Stars" would be equally fascinating, but he is deadly accurate with a pistol and a tough target to take down. I say we give Connor a shot and see how everything plays out.

Ellie (The Last of Us)

Many gamers would argue that "The Last of Us" is the best Playstation game ever made. Despite its divisive sequel, which was released earlier this year, Ellie has cemented herself as one of the cornerstones of Sony-exclusive video games. Her ability to survive in the brutal post-apocalyptic world at such a young age is truly a marvel and, if you've ever played either of the games, you know that she is a girl you would not want to mess with. Armed with a knife, machete, rifle or Molotov cocktail, Ellie's M-rated violence would make her a force to be reckoned with. It would also be a nice touch to include her TLOU father figure Joel in some of her special moves.

Fall Guys (Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout)

In August 2020, "Fall Guys" became the most downloaded Playstation+ game of all time. If nothing else, that makes the jellybean-like character used in the game deserving of a "goofball" spot on our imaginary roster. Perhaps the Fall Guy would be akin to Jigglypuff in "Super Smash Bros." Nobody uses her, but it's kind of funny that she's included, anyway. I imagine that the Fall Guy would have a bunch of bodyslam-style attacks, and its special move might be something like a stampede of other Fall Guys that comes to trample opponents. I don't know. Might be funny.

Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher)

Toss a coin to your Witcher! Let's add Geralt of Rivia to "Playstation All-Stars 2." An expert swordsman with superhuman strength and speed, plus heightened senses and parkour skills to boot, Geralt would be a powerhouse combatant. He can take down the mightiest of beasts, but how would he match up against other superstars of the console? There is only one way to find out.

Jin Sakai (Ghost of Tsushima)

One of Playstation's biggest releases of 2020 was "Ghost of Tsushima," an open-world action/adventure tale of a samurai named Jin Sakai on his journey to protect feudal Japan. His stealth and ninja expertise would be a blast in a battle royale environment, and I can imagine some epic hand-to-hand showdowns between Jin and other new characters like Aloy and Geralt.

John Marston (Red Dead Redemption)

Marston is one of the deadliest gunslingers in the American West. A crack-shot with any type of firearm, the scar-faced outlaw should absolutely ride his way into "All-Stars 2." He could utilize any number of companions for team-up special moves - most likely his son, Jack, or RDR 2's Arthur Morgan - and his "Dead Eye" capability would make for some truly devastating knockouts.

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

Lara Croft has been a Playstation mainstay since 1996. Her legacy is undisputed and her exploration and combat-survival skills are second to none. Croft got a more realistic portrayal in the 2013 series reboot, adding a climbing axe and a bow and arrow to her repertoire and locking her in as a video game icon for years to come. Naturally, she would become an instant rival of fellow treasure hunter Nathan Drake; their similar skill sets would set up some classic battles in "All-Stars 2." 

Sora (Kingdom Hearts)

The keyblade-wielding hero of "Kingdom Hearts" has etched a spot into JRPG-style gaming for nearly 20 years now. Sora, a boy with a tragic backstory and friendships that span multiple dimensions, has slayed more than his fair share of baddies and conquered some formidable villains over the years but has yet to be featured in a combat game like "Playstation All-Stars." He's good with a sword and an expert magician. There's no way you'd be able to put Sora in a game without having some cameos from Donald, Goofy and King Mickey, either, and that's not a bad thing. May your heart be your guiding key, Sora!

Spider-man (Marvel's Spider-man)

Sony has bent over backwards since 2018 to proclaim Spider-man as Sony's ultimate "exclusive" character. That means Peter Parker won't be appearing in any solo games on Xbox or Nintendo anytime in the near future. Spider-man belongs to Sony, so Spider-man has to be included in "Playstation All-Stars 2." The web-slinger would almost unquestionably become the most-used fighter in the game, and his speed and agility would make him a tough out against any of his opposition. Taking into account his ability to thwip ranged attacks from all the way across the arena and the capability to swing out of danger in an instant, and you've got yourself a top contender and maybe the most powerful character on the proposed roster.

Vaas Montenegro (Far Cry 3)

Vaas is the utterly psychotic (and extremely foul-mouthed) villain of "Far Cry 3." Take it from me when I say that this man verifiably has no conscience. He's a drug dealer and a murderer, capable of doing terrible things to anyone who crosses him. Vaas would be a primary antagonist on our "All-Stars 2" wishlist, likely squaring off in Story Mode against fellow island dwellers like Nathan Drake and Lara Croft. He's a madman with impressive weapon accuracy and a desire to blow stuff up. Violence is this man's middle name and he can't wait to get to the middle of the action.

Vault Boy (Fallout)

Finally, I submit another idea for the "goofball" category. Why not include Vault-Tec's mascot, Vault Boy? He's the cartoonish face of the "Fallout" series, often shown performing tasks in tutorials and skill trees, and is quite frequently seen giving a smile and a thumbs-up. Portraying him in his typical, animated, 2-D form, in contrast to the remainder of the 3-D cast, would be fun, and there is a great likelihood that his finishing move would include some form of nuclear blast, so that's too glorious to pass up.

*****

There you have it! That's my proposed roster if they ever reboot "Playstation All-Stars." I would 10/10 buy that game, so if anybody has connections to Sony and can hook me up, I'd gladly pitch it to them.

What do you think? Who did I get right? Who did I leave out? Feel free to leave a comment below, find me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter (here and here).