No PAIN, No Gain! (originally published 19/01/2010)

Hit the doctors fingers to break them off making
some crude but humorous scenes.

I have finally managed to get the "Harder Dicks Balls" trophy for the PSN game, Pain. I don't know why but I became obsessed with getting this trophy and even though I have uncharted 2 sitting in a drawer unplayed and ratchet and clank ACIT half completed, Pain has been the only game I have played in the last few days. I purchased the game a short while after it was put onto the PS store and I found it highly amusing for two or three plays at best. Once the initial charm of the game had worn off I quickly grew tired of it and browsing through the trophy list I found that most of the trophies involved purchasing further content from the PS store and the ones that did not were particularly difficult, especially for a game that was not holding my interest enough for me to commit myself fully to the challenge. I ended up slating the game thoroughly to friends and on the forums and even got into a couple of arguements over the game on gaming forums. The game
just sat idly on my hard drive for months until one Sunday afternoon when I had some spare time and decided to give it another chance.

The Hotel Coral Essex can be vandalised also.

This time round I was able to look beyond the base humour of doing a flying, Ace Ventura talking ass pose into an old lady's face and actually look at the game itself. I took into account the level design and how it was possible to string together different events such as flying down into the subway and being caught up in the air con unit and spat back out onto the street, if you manage to dodge the crane. Granted the game is not incredibly deep, if it were a puddle it would barely splash your ankle when jumped in to. But there is more to it than I gave it credit for initially. The unlockable extras for example, they are not based on the usual method of, score this many points on the first level and you will unlock the second level. No, in order to unlock the block party level you have to hit the old lady with a subway train! And to unlock the demolition level you have to bomb bikini girl 5 times. There is a certain sense of satisfaction once these have been unlocked that is not present in most other games where content unlocks through the natural progression of the game.

The trophies are the same too, most are not unlocked through the normal progression of the game. In order to earn a Pain trophy you must first accept the challenge that the trophy has put to you. The "harder dicks balls" trophy is a prime example of this challenge, thrown down by the devs. Unless you accept the challenge it is not likely that you would attept to put all 4 of those balls into the dumpster behind the billboard without resetting the scene. There is an in game trophy for putting all of the balls into the dumpsters but they do not have to be all in at the same time like the XMB trophy. I can say that this trophy has been thoroughly infuriating at times during the attempt to get it but now that I have earned the trophy, it is easily one of my favorite trophies that I have earned so far.

It is clear to me now that trophies earned in Pain are a badge of honour! A gaming accolade of the highest order. To have earned a Pain trophy is to have accepted a challenge and risen to it. There are platinum trophies easier to earn than any bronze Pain trophy! So if you have one, you are undoubtedly among the few members of this exclusive club.

Videos.

#1 The moment when the final ball finally went in the dumpster. 

#2 In game challenge, swinger. Hit 3 flagpoles in 1 launch.