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52 Games. 1 Year. 2017.
- Thread starter VisceralBowl
- Start date
- Status
I failed the last year, but that's because of a MMO and I think that won't happen again, at least not any time soon.
1. Forge of Gods - 1398 hours
obviously I started it last year, and I "finished" it this year, so it counts.
2. Queen's Quest - 6 hours
3. Pictopix - 50 hours
a nice nonogram game with a lot of content.
4. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book - 100 hours
5. Time Mysteries: Inheritance - Remastered - 2 hours
6. Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan - 7 hours
7. Mind Snares: Alice's Journey - 4 hours
8. Sisyphus Reborn - 0.7 hours
9. Forgotten Tales: Day of the Dead - 21 hours
10. Pixel Puzzles 2: Birds - 21 hours
11.Tenrow - 1 hour
12.Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey - 118 hours
review
13. 9 Clues 2: The Ward - 8 hours
14. Blockwick 2 - 30 hours
15. Linked - 2 hours
16. InfiniPicross - 14 hours
17. Final Fantasy III - 109 hours
18. FreeCell Quest - 70 hours
19. Torch Cave - 2 hours
20. Sleengster - 2 hours
21. CrossCells - 3 hours
22. The Last Photon - 3 hours
23. GooCubelets 2 - 3 hours
24. Torch Cave 2 - 2 hours
25. GooCubelets: The Algoorithm - 3 hours
26. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - 106 hours
review
27. Sleengster 2 - 1 hour
28. True or False - 1 hour
29. Astral Breakers - 4 hours
30. Think To Die - 1 hour
31. The First Spark - 4 hours
32. Flat Path - 2 hours
33. Creature Clicker - Capture, Train, Ascend! - 50 hours
34. Tracks of Triumph: Summertime - 2 hours
35. Mystic Journey: Tri Peaks Solitaire - 18 hours
36. Rage Parking Simulator 2016 - 5 hours
37. CUPID - A free to play Visual Novel - 10 hours
another good free VN
38. Tracks of Triumph: Industrial Zone - 2 hours
39. Hell Girls - 6 hours
40. Soda Dungeon - 58 hours
for a free game, this was great.
41. The Mahjong Huntress - 7 hours
42.The Safeguard Garrison - 1 hours
43.Cosmic Star Heroine - 26 hours
44. Sekwere - 2 hours
45. Wordlase - 22 hours
rather wordlame
46. Picross Touch - 45 hours
47. Zup! - 0.5 hours
48. Making History: The Great War - 4 hours
49. Seven Seas Solitaire - 22 hours
50. #monstercakes - 5 minutes
51. Fruit Arranger - 3 hours
52. Space Beret - 2 hours
53. Phantom Soldier - 2 hours
54. It's Spring Again - 2 hours
55. Escape This - 1 hour
56. They Came From The Moon - 4 hours
57. The House in Fata Morgana - 42 hours
review
58. Other Worlds India - 2 hours
59. Aozora Meikyuu - 2 hours
60. Mortifero Motus - 2 hours
61. Avalon Legends Solitaire - 8 hours
62. Ironclad Tactics - 2 hours
63. Heart and Seoul - 3 hours
64. Pointless - 1 hour
65. True Lover's Knot - 2 hours
66. Break Into Zatwor - 2 hours
67. Tomb Joe - 2 hours
68. Fiends of Imprisonment - 1 hour
69. Soup - 1 hour
70. Samphi - 2 hours
71. simian.interface++ - 1 hour
72. Magma Chamber - 1 hour
73. TAIKU MANSION - 2 hours
74. Sunset's Ashes - 0.4 hours
75. Over The Hills And Far Away - 3 hours
76. Polyology - 3 hours
77. Echo Tokyo: An Intro - 1 hour
78. VITATIO 2 - 3 hours
79. Doodle Mafia - 3 hours
80. Conclusion - 2 hours
81. Avalon Legends Solitaire 2 - 25 hours
82. Snake Party - 6 hours
83. Solitaire - 6 hours
1. Forge of Gods - 1398 hours
obviously I started it last year, and I "finished" it this year, so it counts.
2. Queen's Quest - 6 hours
3. Pictopix - 50 hours
a nice nonogram game with a lot of content.
4. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book - 100 hours
5. Time Mysteries: Inheritance - Remastered - 2 hours
6. Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan - 7 hours
7. Mind Snares: Alice's Journey - 4 hours
8. Sisyphus Reborn - 0.7 hours
9. Forgotten Tales: Day of the Dead - 21 hours
10. Pixel Puzzles 2: Birds - 21 hours
11.Tenrow - 1 hour
12.Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey - 118 hours
review
13. 9 Clues 2: The Ward - 8 hours
14. Blockwick 2 - 30 hours
15. Linked - 2 hours
16. InfiniPicross - 14 hours
17. Final Fantasy III - 109 hours
18. FreeCell Quest - 70 hours
19. Torch Cave - 2 hours
20. Sleengster - 2 hours
21. CrossCells - 3 hours
22. The Last Photon - 3 hours
23. GooCubelets 2 - 3 hours
24. Torch Cave 2 - 2 hours
25. GooCubelets: The Algoorithm - 3 hours
26. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - 106 hours
review
27. Sleengster 2 - 1 hour
28. True or False - 1 hour
29. Astral Breakers - 4 hours
30. Think To Die - 1 hour
31. The First Spark - 4 hours
32. Flat Path - 2 hours
33. Creature Clicker - Capture, Train, Ascend! - 50 hours
34. Tracks of Triumph: Summertime - 2 hours
35. Mystic Journey: Tri Peaks Solitaire - 18 hours
36. Rage Parking Simulator 2016 - 5 hours
37. CUPID - A free to play Visual Novel - 10 hours
another good free VN
38. Tracks of Triumph: Industrial Zone - 2 hours
39. Hell Girls - 6 hours
40. Soda Dungeon - 58 hours
for a free game, this was great.
41. The Mahjong Huntress - 7 hours
42.The Safeguard Garrison - 1 hours
43.Cosmic Star Heroine - 26 hours
44. Sekwere - 2 hours
45. Wordlase - 22 hours
rather wordlame
46. Picross Touch - 45 hours
47. Zup! - 0.5 hours
48. Making History: The Great War - 4 hours
49. Seven Seas Solitaire - 22 hours
50. #monstercakes - 5 minutes
51. Fruit Arranger - 3 hours
52. Space Beret - 2 hours
53. Phantom Soldier - 2 hours
54. It's Spring Again - 2 hours
55. Escape This - 1 hour
56. They Came From The Moon - 4 hours
57. The House in Fata Morgana - 42 hours
review
58. Other Worlds India - 2 hours
59. Aozora Meikyuu - 2 hours
60. Mortifero Motus - 2 hours
61. Avalon Legends Solitaire - 8 hours
62. Ironclad Tactics - 2 hours
63. Heart and Seoul - 3 hours
64. Pointless - 1 hour
65. True Lover's Knot - 2 hours
66. Break Into Zatwor - 2 hours
67. Tomb Joe - 2 hours
68. Fiends of Imprisonment - 1 hour
69. Soup - 1 hour
70. Samphi - 2 hours
71. simian.interface++ - 1 hour
72. Magma Chamber - 1 hour
73. TAIKU MANSION - 2 hours
74. Sunset's Ashes - 0.4 hours
75. Over The Hills And Far Away - 3 hours
76. Polyology - 3 hours
77. Echo Tokyo: An Intro - 1 hour
78. VITATIO 2 - 3 hours
79. Doodle Mafia - 3 hours
80. Conclusion - 2 hours
81. Avalon Legends Solitaire 2 - 25 hours
82. Snake Party - 6 hours
83. Solitaire - 6 hours
His Majesty
Banned
Main post
05 | Mafia III | PC
Time: 30 hours
Score: 5/10
I feel very conflicted about Mafia III. The game does a terrific job in the introduction and delivers with great storytelling and one very memorable cutscene. After that it goes more and more downhill and the game slowly turns into one long and painful checklist. The combat and driving are great but even they cannot rescue the game from the terrible racket system. A lot of wasted potential that will hopefully be addressed with the DLC.
05 | Mafia III | PC
Time: 30 hours
Score: 5/10
I feel very conflicted about Mafia III. The game does a terrific job in the introduction and delivers with great storytelling and one very memorable cutscene. After that it goes more and more downhill and the game slowly turns into one long and painful checklist. The combat and driving are great but even they cannot rescue the game from the terrible racket system. A lot of wasted potential that will hopefully be addressed with the DLC.
Original Post
11. Super Mario 3D World - February 6th - ★★★★☆
I just realized this is the first Mario game I've completed in my life. Pretty sad considering how much I love Mario, I just hadn't owned a Mario game since I was a kid.
It's an awesome game. I had to knock one star because I think the bosses were too easy (and consider I don't even like hard games) and they were too repetitive.
I didn't know what to expect regarding the mix of platforming styles, but I think it works very well, I enjoyed it a lot more than a 2D Mario.
I can't wait for Odyssey!
11. Super Mario 3D World - February 6th - ★★★★☆
I just realized this is the first Mario game I've completed in my life. Pretty sad considering how much I love Mario, I just hadn't owned a Mario game since I was a kid.
It's an awesome game. I had to knock one star because I think the bosses were too easy (and consider I don't even like hard games) and they were too repetitive.
I didn't know what to expect regarding the mix of platforming styles, but I think it works very well, I enjoyed it a lot more than a 2D Mario.
I can't wait for Odyssey!
11) Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition(XB1) 2/4-2/6
Game is fantastic, very few deaths can I honestly say were a bit cruel. Game is fair and I am playing this on hard mode. The only gripe I can possibly offer if at all is the enemies and their attacks blend in so well with the beautiful atmosphere and environment that I often don't know what I am dodging. Also some of the commands I think are so close together like when trying to climb down the wall to try and do a dash off the wall in a tight platforming spot, by accident I get a stomp and fall to my death. Wish the right analog stick had a use in the game, I feel like the aiming would have been easier that way.
Everything else has been so crisp though, a lot of thought put into this game. A lot of heartfelt moments, very fitting soundtrack to boot and some very good mechanics that take a lot of thought and precision/skill to succeed with. Just a phenomenal game, it's amazing I got this game for 1 dollar more than Double Dragon IV and it isn't even comparable.
Can't wait for Ori and the Will O Wisp, Microsoft would be foolish to not dedicate a good couple of minutes on this game this June.
Game is an absolute must have for an XB1 owner, so good. Clocked in about a little less than 9 hours altogether with the game I didn't even 100% the title either! I played on hard difficulty to get the utmost challenge, glad I did!
Recommendation:
Yay or Nay. Must play for any Metroidvania fan, must have for an XB1 owner, so good. So simple with it's storytelling, so powerful, so colorful, so much life and thought put into this game. Just remarkable, well worth the hype. This game set the bar for the best game I may have played in 2017 not counting DKC 1 and 2 given those are enshrined on my all time favorite games ever. To get this game for less than 10 dollars is such a steal.
davidwhangchoi
Member
i played Yakuza 0 so far and just got Nioh...
and i got a bunch of retro games that i posted on retroGAF. i think i can get to 52
and i got a bunch of retro games that i posted on retroGAF. i think i can get to 52
Benzychenz
Member
Main post
3. Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage - 4 hours - 8/10
Really fun little prologue that has made me super excited for KH3. The game controls well, the combat is fun and flashy, the environments are beautiful, the boss fights are big in scale, the voice acting and animation is top notch. Just great all around.
4. Gravity Rush 2 - 45 hours - 8.5/10
Really fun game. The open world is much bigger in scale than the first, and there is so much more life all around. The story is bigger, the side quests are bigger, your arsenal of powers is bigger, all around, it's just bigger and better. That said, the control gripes I had with the first are largely untouched, and the climax (while breathtaking) didn't satisfyingly answer all my questions.
Next up, Nioh!
3. Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage - 4 hours - 8/10
Really fun little prologue that has made me super excited for KH3. The game controls well, the combat is fun and flashy, the environments are beautiful, the boss fights are big in scale, the voice acting and animation is top notch. Just great all around.
4. Gravity Rush 2 - 45 hours - 8.5/10
Really fun game. The open world is much bigger in scale than the first, and there is so much more life all around. The story is bigger, the side quests are bigger, your arsenal of powers is bigger, all around, it's just bigger and better. That said, the control gripes I had with the first are largely untouched, and the climax (while breathtaking) didn't satisfyingly answer all my questions.
Next up, Nioh!
Game #23 - Paint it Back
Time: 73 hours
Yu, 73 fucking hours. My god that game has a lot of content. To be fair tho, I found out way too late that you could jump straight to master puzzles and it would give you the previous difficulty medals automatically, I was doing every puzzle before that lol. Anyway, amazing picross game that was by far my favorite of the genre. Great puzzles, some are real brain breakers, and just the amount of content in such a low price is unbeatable. One of the goats for sure.
Main Post
Claimed!
First time I take part in this competition and I'm looking forward to it! It was one of the reasons i registrated in this forum
Actually I am trying to complete the games i have installed on my HDD and then continue onwards.
So let's get started!
1. Olli Olli - 7 Hours
Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed on 2/1/2017
Rating: 7 / 10
Very nice Skatebording game which gets a little bit frustrating in the end. Unlocked all levels except the rad levels.
2. Dishonored 2 - 35 Hours
Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed on 4/1/2017
Rating: 8/10
This would be a very hot candidate for my GOTY, if it weren't for those fucking bugs. First playthrough was fine, took Emily and had a nice stealth run, no problems. Second playthrough with Corvo (NG+) and in the second level there is a gamebreaking bug and the game just quits.
But don't misunderstand me: the gameplay is VERY good and the level design is over the top. Few of the best levels i've seen in my game career.
3. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time - 12 Hours
Platform: PC (GOG)
Completed on 21/1/2017
Rating: 7/10
Nice Action Platformer but the fights ruined it for me. The Jump and Run passages are nice though.
4. Dead Space 3 - 17 Hours
Platform: PC
Completed on 27/1/2017
Rating: 5/10
This is a replay, i went through the Dead Space series again.
This is the low end of Dead Space. They really managed to ruin the gameplay of the series with action focused gameplay, grinding mechanics and CO-OP.
The first part in space is OK, but as soon you get on Tau Volantis the game bursts with action and the whole atmosphere is destroyed.
5. Gears Of War 2 - 15 Hours
Platform: Xbox 360
Completed on 30/1/2017
Rating: 7/10
This one was on my list a very long time.
Just went through the single player campaign.
Definitly a good game, although a few parts felt a little boring. Graphics are stille very nice today.
6. 12 Labours Of Hercules - 7 Hours
Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed on 7/2/2017
Rating: 7/10
Fun little strategy game, very relaxing. Bought this on a sale and wasn't dissapointed.
Current playthroughs:
Assassins Creed Syndicate (PC)
GTA V (PC)
Stealth Bastard Deluxe (PC)
Metroid Prime 2 (GC)
Dragon Quest Builders (PS4)
Super Metroid (SNES)
Planned for 2017:
Mafia III, Pillars Of Eternity, Planescape Torment, Lunar - Silver Star Story Complete, MGS V, Homefront: The Revolution
First time I take part in this competition and I'm looking forward to it! It was one of the reasons i registrated in this forum
Actually I am trying to complete the games i have installed on my HDD and then continue onwards.
So let's get started!
1. Olli Olli - 7 Hours
Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed on 2/1/2017
Rating: 7 / 10
Very nice Skatebording game which gets a little bit frustrating in the end. Unlocked all levels except the rad levels.
2. Dishonored 2 - 35 Hours
Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed on 4/1/2017
Rating: 8/10
This would be a very hot candidate for my GOTY, if it weren't for those fucking bugs. First playthrough was fine, took Emily and had a nice stealth run, no problems. Second playthrough with Corvo (NG+) and in the second level there is a gamebreaking bug and the game just quits.
But don't misunderstand me: the gameplay is VERY good and the level design is over the top. Few of the best levels i've seen in my game career.
3. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time - 12 Hours
Platform: PC (GOG)
Completed on 21/1/2017
Rating: 7/10
Nice Action Platformer but the fights ruined it for me. The Jump and Run passages are nice though.
4. Dead Space 3 - 17 Hours
Platform: PC
Completed on 27/1/2017
Rating: 5/10
This is a replay, i went through the Dead Space series again.
This is the low end of Dead Space. They really managed to ruin the gameplay of the series with action focused gameplay, grinding mechanics and CO-OP.
The first part in space is OK, but as soon you get on Tau Volantis the game bursts with action and the whole atmosphere is destroyed.
5. Gears Of War 2 - 15 Hours
Platform: Xbox 360
Completed on 30/1/2017
Rating: 7/10
This one was on my list a very long time.
Just went through the single player campaign.
Definitly a good game, although a few parts felt a little boring. Graphics are stille very nice today.
6. 12 Labours Of Hercules - 7 Hours
Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed on 7/2/2017
Rating: 7/10
Fun little strategy game, very relaxing. Bought this on a sale and wasn't dissapointed.
Current playthroughs:
Assassins Creed Syndicate (PC)
GTA V (PC)
Stealth Bastard Deluxe (PC)
Metroid Prime 2 (GC)
Dragon Quest Builders (PS4)
Super Metroid (SNES)
Planned for 2017:
Mafia III, Pillars Of Eternity, Planescape Torment, Lunar - Silver Star Story Complete, MGS V, Homefront: The Revolution
#22 Far Cry 2 ★★★★ PC - Feb 8th - 10 hours
Love this game despite the flaws, though its certainly not one you can replay often
#23 Dante's Inferno ★★★.5 Xbox 360 Feb 8th - 6 hours
I can't believe Sony let a God of War game on the Xbox 360! Pretty good aside from the zero innovation and slightly shallow combat.
Falchion
Member
Full Post
6) The Division - 31 hours - 2/5
I got this game with several of my friends shortly after launch last year and while I really enjoyed it, we ended up dropping it as a group. I've come back to it a few times since, especially after some of the major updates. I had always planned to come finish it at some point and this was the perfect time because I was able to grind up a bunch of levels on my own with many of the side missions that we had left undone before joining with one of my friends and my roommate to blast through the rest of the story. The plot itself is whatever but the world and atmosphere are top notch. It's one of the prettiest games I've played and it never got old to come out of a building and find yourself in a blinding blizzard. There were some frustrations along the way, mainly because there are so many systems at play with this game and I couldn't be bothered to really learn the intricacies of it all, but I had a great time and will be going back to finish up some of the last missions.
7) Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - 10 hours - 2/7
I may dislike the multiplayer of IW quite a bit, but the campaign was pretty awesome and they really shook up the traditional formula for the better. The game does a great job of making you feel like the captain of a spaceship because you walk to and from your jackal fighter, interact with the crew, and use a star map to choose your next mission (including side missions which were a pleasant addition). There were some really good characters that I was fond of through the campaign which made the final chapter resonate much more than the typical CoD experience. Overall I loved the new structure of the single player experience and I hope Sledgehammer builds on it for their next entry.
6) The Division - 31 hours - 2/5
I got this game with several of my friends shortly after launch last year and while I really enjoyed it, we ended up dropping it as a group. I've come back to it a few times since, especially after some of the major updates. I had always planned to come finish it at some point and this was the perfect time because I was able to grind up a bunch of levels on my own with many of the side missions that we had left undone before joining with one of my friends and my roommate to blast through the rest of the story. The plot itself is whatever but the world and atmosphere are top notch. It's one of the prettiest games I've played and it never got old to come out of a building and find yourself in a blinding blizzard. There were some frustrations along the way, mainly because there are so many systems at play with this game and I couldn't be bothered to really learn the intricacies of it all, but I had a great time and will be going back to finish up some of the last missions.
7) Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - 10 hours - 2/7
I may dislike the multiplayer of IW quite a bit, but the campaign was pretty awesome and they really shook up the traditional formula for the better. The game does a great job of making you feel like the captain of a spaceship because you walk to and from your jackal fighter, interact with the crew, and use a star map to choose your next mission (including side missions which were a pleasant addition). There were some really good characters that I was fond of through the campaign which made the final chapter resonate much more than the typical CoD experience. Overall I loved the new structure of the single player experience and I hope Sledgehammer builds on it for their next entry.
rottendevice
Member
Master Post
10. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (~12 hours)
Lost Planet isn't going to win any awards for storytelling or character development. It was released early in the 360/PS3 lifecycle and as such, the graphics are somewhat poor. But what it does offer is a fairly competent third person shooter, with some degree of charm.
Lost Planet takes place on a very cold, wintery planet. As such, you have a limited amount of thermal energy that will keep you warm throughout the missions. Run out of thermal energy, and your life meter will drain, and if your life meter hits zero, you need to restart at the last checkpoint. I found that I seldom ever ran out of thermal energy, but this is how the game was designed. Even when you take hits from enemies, you don't lose health so much as you lose thermal energy.
The main enemies are called Akrid, which are giant insect like creatures. They often emerge from a hole in the ground, and if you shoot the hole enough, you can stop the Akrid from respawning. There are also snow pirates, who shoot at you and are humans trying to colonize the planet. Boss fights are typically a giant Akrid, or a person in a mech suit.
Yeah, there are mech suits. They're kind of cool, but generally pretty cumbersome to handle. They offer a lot more firepower, but taking a hit in a mech lowers your life energy, not your thermal energy. As such, you'll only be using mechs for a limited time until you're near death, at which point you need to eject. Cool at the mechs are, I'd like to see them able to be used for more time in the game.
I played the game using the Steam Controller, and found that the aiming was very precise, and there were no major issues with the non-standard controller. In fact, I'd go as far as to recommend playing the game with the Steam controller, because the shooting is so precise. At the time I write this, the second community made config is the only one that allows you to change weapons and reload, so I recommend that one.
The game is anywhere from 10 to 15 hours depending on how you play. Like I said at the beginning, the game has it's charm, but it's not going to win a lot of awards. If you're looking to bolster your third-person shooter collection, check it out. It's fairly affordable on Steam.
3/5
10. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (~12 hours)
Lost Planet isn't going to win any awards for storytelling or character development. It was released early in the 360/PS3 lifecycle and as such, the graphics are somewhat poor. But what it does offer is a fairly competent third person shooter, with some degree of charm.
Lost Planet takes place on a very cold, wintery planet. As such, you have a limited amount of thermal energy that will keep you warm throughout the missions. Run out of thermal energy, and your life meter will drain, and if your life meter hits zero, you need to restart at the last checkpoint. I found that I seldom ever ran out of thermal energy, but this is how the game was designed. Even when you take hits from enemies, you don't lose health so much as you lose thermal energy.
The main enemies are called Akrid, which are giant insect like creatures. They often emerge from a hole in the ground, and if you shoot the hole enough, you can stop the Akrid from respawning. There are also snow pirates, who shoot at you and are humans trying to colonize the planet. Boss fights are typically a giant Akrid, or a person in a mech suit.
Yeah, there are mech suits. They're kind of cool, but generally pretty cumbersome to handle. They offer a lot more firepower, but taking a hit in a mech lowers your life energy, not your thermal energy. As such, you'll only be using mechs for a limited time until you're near death, at which point you need to eject. Cool at the mechs are, I'd like to see them able to be used for more time in the game.
I played the game using the Steam Controller, and found that the aiming was very precise, and there were no major issues with the non-standard controller. In fact, I'd go as far as to recommend playing the game with the Steam controller, because the shooting is so precise. At the time I write this, the second community made config is the only one that allows you to change weapons and reload, so I recommend that one.
The game is anywhere from 10 to 15 hours depending on how you play. Like I said at the beginning, the game has it's charm, but it's not going to win a lot of awards. If you're looking to bolster your third-person shooter collection, check it out. It's fairly affordable on Steam.
3/5
Stead Fast
Banned
Original post
6.
(PS4)
Completed the single player campaign, all helmets, on Hard in 13 hours spread over two days.
Id picked this up partly out of respect for what Respawn were looking to accomplish here, under the shadow of Battlefield 1. Its a really weird thing to put out there (though I am parroting a lot of forums on the internet here) that this game deserves SO much more attention than it ultimately gained. We all know the culprits behind this, so I wont go into any more about that.
As for gameplay, this felt more in keeping with what I wanted from Mirrors Edge: Catalyst than we actually got in that game it is the least conventional out of any FPS Ive played for quite some time. The single player mechanics are introduced seamlessly, work their way into the actual level design similar to that of a good platformer or puzzle game, then are removed before they overstay their welcome. The campaign is designed to give you a fleshed out example of the games arsenal, and that is certainly a priority if the player hadnt touched multiplayer yet and wanted to cut their teeth, however the use & drop technique I had to employ throughout most of the game, as it forced you to switch once ammo was empty did eventually frustrate me, as I had a pretty good thing going with Mastiff and Alternator, the latter thankfully stuck around for most of it.
Its definitely a good thing if your game is reminding me in parts Portal, than simply your last iteration of the same title. On level design, god that third and fourth level were fantastic, both in aesthetic, mapping, pacing, and objectives. As I never owned an Xbox One, I cant say Ive ever even touched 1, so my comparisons must be from other games rather than that, though its definitely a good thing if your game is reminding me, in parts, of Portal than simply your last iteration of the same title.
Content wise, the campaign is a meaty 8 hour, broken down (sometimes unreasonably so) into smaller segmented checkpoints. What is both a pro and a con for this game is its roster of villains each, well, except two are fantastic as villains here, with some memorable designs going beyond the enemy soldier Ash in particular. As BT helped really sell some of the dorkier parts of the story, without it descending into parody.
Overall: 8/10
6.
(PS4)
Completed the single player campaign, all helmets, on Hard in 13 hours spread over two days.
Id picked this up partly out of respect for what Respawn were looking to accomplish here, under the shadow of Battlefield 1. Its a really weird thing to put out there (though I am parroting a lot of forums on the internet here) that this game deserves SO much more attention than it ultimately gained. We all know the culprits behind this, so I wont go into any more about that.
As for gameplay, this felt more in keeping with what I wanted from Mirrors Edge: Catalyst than we actually got in that game it is the least conventional out of any FPS Ive played for quite some time. The single player mechanics are introduced seamlessly, work their way into the actual level design similar to that of a good platformer or puzzle game, then are removed before they overstay their welcome. The campaign is designed to give you a fleshed out example of the games arsenal, and that is certainly a priority if the player hadnt touched multiplayer yet and wanted to cut their teeth, however the use & drop technique I had to employ throughout most of the game, as it forced you to switch once ammo was empty did eventually frustrate me, as I had a pretty good thing going with Mastiff and Alternator, the latter thankfully stuck around for most of it.
Its definitely a good thing if your game is reminding me in parts Portal, than simply your last iteration of the same title. On level design, god that third and fourth level were fantastic, both in aesthetic, mapping, pacing, and objectives. As I never owned an Xbox One, I cant say Ive ever even touched 1, so my comparisons must be from other games rather than that, though its definitely a good thing if your game is reminding me, in parts, of Portal than simply your last iteration of the same title.
Content wise, the campaign is a meaty 8 hour, broken down (sometimes unreasonably so) into smaller segmented checkpoints. What is both a pro and a con for this game is its roster of villains each, well, except two are fantastic as villains here, with some memorable designs going beyond the enemy soldier Ash in particular. As BT helped really sell some of the dorkier parts of the story, without it descending into parody.
Overall: 8/10
Tizoc
Member
Pro tip- Space bar skips dialog and right clicking at an entrance or exit instantly moves you to the next area or screen.
I ended up liking this game a lot more than I expected, although it did have some weird moments. The 2nd half of the game felt a little rushed and wasn't as entertaining as the first half IMO.
Still watching Christopher Lloyd's ludicrous acting in some scenes and him treking through an early 90s cartoon world has been entertaining.
Also I counted at least FIVE characters voiced by Jim Cummings, woof.
Original Post
5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - 9/10. 13 hours
I completed the game with 197.8% completion, and all bosses in both castles defeated. The castle design is excellent. It's full of secrets and shortcuts. Most of the bosses are pretty good. The game is a good challenge. It does get really frustrating at times with some of the cheap enemies, but they are few and far between. The abilities are really cool. There are several different types of weapons for different playstyles. The music. The music is fantastic. Nearly every song is memorable.
Next Game - Rise of the Tomb Raider
5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - 9/10. 13 hours
I completed the game with 197.8% completion, and all bosses in both castles defeated. The castle design is excellent. It's full of secrets and shortcuts. Most of the bosses are pretty good. The game is a good challenge. It does get really frustrating at times with some of the cheap enemies, but they are few and far between. The abilities are really cool. There are several different types of weapons for different playstyles. The music. The music is fantastic. Nearly every song is memorable.
Next Game - Rise of the Tomb Raider
rottendevice
Member
Master Post
11. Klonoa (Wii) (~9 hours)
Im a sucker for character-action platformers. When I was growing up, they were all that was popular in gaming. Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario 64, Spyro the Dragon... on and on. Klonoa I suppose is originally from that same era, but never gained the popularity of the aforementioned titles. I played the Wii remake.
The action is pretty simple. You can jump, as well as hover jump like in Yoshi's Island. You can also pick up enemies, hurl them at other enemies, hurl them at things in the environment, or use them to get a higher jump. That pretty much sums up the gameplay. The game takes place on a 2D plane, but at times, you switch directions and enter into the third dimension. The game never becomes truly 3D, but it's a nice change of pace to sometimes go on a branching path. Occasionally you're given two paths, and forced to ask yourself ”Will I miss something important if I choose path A over path B?"
Visually, the game is very colorful, but it's missing something. A lack of it's own personality, perhaps. Of course, this is a Wii game, so we should expect graphics to be somewhat dated, but just look at the mileage they got out of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2! I understand the original game has been praised for it's aesthetics, so it's a little disappointing that this version on more powerful hardware looks a bit bland.
The game has gizmos to collect if you're the type who likes to 100% games. The latter half of the game features more elaborate puzzle solving than the beginning. In fact, the first half of the game is a cakewalk in comparison. Boss fights get progressively more challenging but aren't overly difficult. Finally, the end of the game gets a little deep, story-wise. For what was probably marketed as a kids game, I wasn't expecting it to go in that direction.
Klonoa is a solid platformer that really gets it's wings in the latter half of the game. Unfortunately, the game is a somewhat short. It's a cult classic on PS1, but it probably doesn't bear the same status on the Wii. If you're die-hard about the PlayStation original, give this a look. Otherwise, you wouldn't be missing much if you skipped Klonoa.
3/5
11. Klonoa (Wii) (~9 hours)
Im a sucker for character-action platformers. When I was growing up, they were all that was popular in gaming. Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario 64, Spyro the Dragon... on and on. Klonoa I suppose is originally from that same era, but never gained the popularity of the aforementioned titles. I played the Wii remake.
The action is pretty simple. You can jump, as well as hover jump like in Yoshi's Island. You can also pick up enemies, hurl them at other enemies, hurl them at things in the environment, or use them to get a higher jump. That pretty much sums up the gameplay. The game takes place on a 2D plane, but at times, you switch directions and enter into the third dimension. The game never becomes truly 3D, but it's a nice change of pace to sometimes go on a branching path. Occasionally you're given two paths, and forced to ask yourself ”Will I miss something important if I choose path A over path B?"
Visually, the game is very colorful, but it's missing something. A lack of it's own personality, perhaps. Of course, this is a Wii game, so we should expect graphics to be somewhat dated, but just look at the mileage they got out of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2! I understand the original game has been praised for it's aesthetics, so it's a little disappointing that this version on more powerful hardware looks a bit bland.
The game has gizmos to collect if you're the type who likes to 100% games. The latter half of the game features more elaborate puzzle solving than the beginning. In fact, the first half of the game is a cakewalk in comparison. Boss fights get progressively more challenging but aren't overly difficult. Finally, the end of the game gets a little deep, story-wise. For what was probably marketed as a kids game, I wasn't expecting it to go in that direction.
Klonoa is a solid platformer that really gets it's wings in the latter half of the game. Unfortunately, the game is a somewhat short. It's a cult classic on PS1, but it probably doesn't bear the same status on the Wii. If you're die-hard about the PlayStation original, give this a look. Otherwise, you wouldn't be missing much if you skipped Klonoa.
3/5
Jack Videogames
Member
33:09h. Platinum.
Beware: El Unmarked Spoiler Congroo.
First things first, this is not the story of larger-than-life Mad Scientist Hououin Kyouma and his merry lab mems playing God with microwaves and bananas. This is the story of Rintaro Okabe, a very broken young man suffering from (eerily realistically depicted) PTSD, trying to piece his life together after killing the girl he loves with his own hands, and getting involved -again- in a giant worldwide conspiration.
So, as you can imagine, Steins;Gate 0 is much darker than Steins;Gate. While in the first Steins;Gate Okarin was the beacon of hope everyone followed, in 0 he has lost his spirit, and so has everyone else around him. Particularly Suzuha, which is not the chipper part-timer of the first game, but a bitter grown-up child soldier from the Bad Future timeline. The rest of the lab mems either aren't much involved at first or are desperately trying to help Okarin get it together.
I actually think that between Steins;Gate and 0, 0 is the better game. But don't expect a fun romp full of memes and catchphrases with a darker latter half: Steins;Gate is a continuation of the densest, more psychological parts of its predecessor. This makes it so much more satisfying when Okarin finally goes back to its Mad Scientist persona in some endings.
My Score: ★★★★★
Original Post
Tizoc
Member
Finished the game a 95% total game completion. I beat the final boss and ended it at there.
Really nice action game although finding some of the hidden stuff is a tad irritating esp. when you need to backtrack.
Non the less it was a fun ride and I may replay it in the future on Hard for an extra challenge even though the combat only got tough by the end game.
Game 4: Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin (PC) - 60 hours
It was a really cool game, but a tad too long. It should have ended when you get the King's Ring. At this point I was bit burned out and the coming areas like Aldia's Keep could not motivate me. But the DLC areas, they gave me my motivation back. Such great level design in the sunken city and in Eleum Loyce. Every time I found a new shortcut I really appreciated the level design. But I didn't like the Tower of Brume. The best fight was against the burnt Ivory King. It was really cool to jump down into the chaos realm with your 4 knights and my 2 npc summons to start a massive brawl. And as the odds turned for me, the Ivory King appears and the real challenge began. At first he seems easy, but then he powered his sword up and got insane range and damage. It was really really close at the end. Really good fight. Another good fight was against Sinh. That dragon felt so mighty, spitting fire and venom and crushing the pillars in the arena.
Hardest boss definitly goes to Smelter Demon, closely followed by Fume Knight and the Pursuer as third hardest. I am happy to put this game to rest. For now. In comparison to Dark Souls 1, I liked it a little bit more. The hollow/human mechanic is much better.
Game 5: Catherine (PS3) - 16 hours
Great puzzler, I really enjoyed it. Got the true lover ending, which I really liked. I spoiled myself with a youtube video about the number of possible endings but I cannot imagine that there are that many endings. I will definitly give it another try, maybe on hard and try to reach a different ending.
It was a really cool game, but a tad too long. It should have ended when you get the King's Ring. At this point I was bit burned out and the coming areas like Aldia's Keep could not motivate me. But the DLC areas, they gave me my motivation back. Such great level design in the sunken city and in Eleum Loyce. Every time I found a new shortcut I really appreciated the level design. But I didn't like the Tower of Brume. The best fight was against the burnt Ivory King. It was really cool to jump down into the chaos realm with your 4 knights and my 2 npc summons to start a massive brawl. And as the odds turned for me, the Ivory King appears and the real challenge began. At first he seems easy, but then he powered his sword up and got insane range and damage. It was really really close at the end. Really good fight. Another good fight was against Sinh. That dragon felt so mighty, spitting fire and venom and crushing the pillars in the arena.
Hardest boss definitly goes to Smelter Demon, closely followed by Fume Knight and the Pursuer as third hardest. I am happy to put this game to rest. For now. In comparison to Dark Souls 1, I liked it a little bit more. The hollow/human mechanic is much better.
Game 5: Catherine (PS3) - 16 hours
Great puzzler, I really enjoyed it. Got the true lover ending, which I really liked. I spoiled myself with a youtube video about the number of possible endings but I cannot imagine that there are that many endings. I will definitly give it another try, maybe on hard and try to reach a different ending.
Falchion
Member
Original Post
8) Fire Emblem Heroes - 10 hours - 2/10
Just beat the main story of Heroes which I've been playing since it came out last week. It's a fun game and I'll give it the fact that it got me into Fire Emblem which means I'll be playing the copy of Awakening that came with my 3DS that I had never touched before. The story is really thin and things get grindy really quick trying to get orbs to get some new characters. I like the squad I built but the fact that orbs are so hard to come by means that players not willing to spend any money will have to wait quite a while in between summons which kind of sucks because if you don't have new characters you like and are incentivized to level up, there's not much to keep you coming back for the time being.
8) Fire Emblem Heroes - 10 hours - 2/10
Just beat the main story of Heroes which I've been playing since it came out last week. It's a fun game and I'll give it the fact that it got me into Fire Emblem which means I'll be playing the copy of Awakening that came with my 3DS that I had never touched before. The story is really thin and things get grindy really quick trying to get orbs to get some new characters. I like the squad I built but the fact that orbs are so hard to come by means that players not willing to spend any money will have to wait quite a while in between summons which kind of sucks because if you don't have new characters you like and are incentivized to level up, there's not much to keep you coming back for the time being.
oO_CurrY_Oo
Member
OP
Been a bit, but I felt the need to talk about/review both games here within the contexts of completing the whole series.
GAME #7 - Bayonetta - 8 Hours - 8/10 - 2/7/17
GAME #8 - Bayonetta 2 - 14 Hours - 10/10 - 2/11/17
Confession time: despite pre-ordering Bayonetta 2, I hadn't actually completed it since it came out. I had gotten so bogged down with other games that it just slipped my mind. I had put a couple of hours into it and then, for whatever reason, hadn't finished it.
But I had also never even played the first Bayonetta, so before I finished Bayo 2 I wanted to see how the series got started, to see how the sequel improved on the formula.
Bayo 1 is a rough as hell game. I honestly debated with myself for the longest time whether or not I should have dropped my score a point or two just because so much of the game is just awful. Pretty much everything that isn't the core combat is pretty crappy honestly, and it's only because the combat is so good that I decided to score it as highly as I did. But really, everything that isn't that? Mostly garbage.
Where to start...
-------------------
Bayo 2 though? This game is far from rough. This is the product of a team of designers and developers that looked at their previous work and decided to keep everything that was good while scrapping everything that was bad.
Truly one of the best Wii U exclusives and one of the best action games period. Nintendo did us a massive service for saving this game.
Been a bit, but I felt the need to talk about/review both games here within the contexts of completing the whole series.
GAME #7 - Bayonetta - 8 Hours - 8/10 - 2/7/17
GAME #8 - Bayonetta 2 - 14 Hours - 10/10 - 2/11/17
Confession time: despite pre-ordering Bayonetta 2, I hadn't actually completed it since it came out. I had gotten so bogged down with other games that it just slipped my mind. I had put a couple of hours into it and then, for whatever reason, hadn't finished it.
But I had also never even played the first Bayonetta, so before I finished Bayo 2 I wanted to see how the series got started, to see how the sequel improved on the formula.
Bayo 1 is a rough as hell game. I honestly debated with myself for the longest time whether or not I should have dropped my score a point or two just because so much of the game is just awful. Pretty much everything that isn't the core combat is pretty crappy honestly, and it's only because the combat is so good that I decided to score it as highly as I did. But really, everything that isn't that? Mostly garbage.
Where to start...
- The story is pretty shitty and doesn't make a lick of sense (which is huge problem when so much of the game is devoted to these crappy stop-and-start cutscenes that are all about it)
- Instant-death QTEs are just the worst, especially when the game HEAVILY penalizes your score for deaths
- Even on normal the game is incredibly punishing, with basic enemy attacks doing tons of damage and there being very few healing items
- All of the non-combat gameplay sections (i.e. the motorcycle and missile bits) last so incredibly long as to wear out their welcome and don't feel all that great to play
- Visually the game isn't all that attractive, with tons of washed out browns and greys making up the backgrounds.
-------------------
Bayo 2 though? This game is far from rough. This is the product of a team of designers and developers that looked at their previous work and decided to keep everything that was good while scrapping everything that was bad.
- It's a stunning game in terms of visuals, with colors that pop and vibrant backgrounds that are exciting to explore
- No instant-death QTEs
- The game is far less punishing on normal, meaning I had far fewer levels with multiple deaths leading to a cruddy stone trophy
- Way fewer set-piece sections with some weird new way to play, and those that are in last just the right length of time
Truly one of the best Wii U exclusives and one of the best action games period. Nintendo did us a massive service for saving this game.
dickroach
Member
I played thru Paper Mario TTYD last weekend for the third(?) time last weekend, but I know that game pretty well and didn't get a new experience out of it, so I'm not counting it. No one's counting re-plays, right?
I beat Halo 2 Anniversary and Touch My Katamari this week, and going to finish up Limbo tomorrow. good week. OP
I beat Halo 2 Anniversary and Touch My Katamari this week, and going to finish up Limbo tomorrow. good week. OP
Main Post
I had this incredible roommate last month month and we played coop everyday for two weeks.
I had already completed most of the games singleplayer so I wasn't going to count them, however I spent so much quality gaming time that I just can't not put them on my list, so here we go:
6. Enter The Gungeon [coop] (~2 hours)
This is where I knew I had something special right there. Wanted to train him so maybe I could unlock
that week, and BAM, we finish it together second try.
After 100 hours playing singleplayer, I had a surprising lot of fun playing Gungeon coop. It's clearly a second thought and needs some tweaks still, but it's quite alright for what it offers.
7. Risk of Rain [coop] (5 hours)
This took us quite a lot of runs during 2~3 days to finally complete. Although a lot a fun there was a quite noticible luck factor involved on our runs. Sometimes we would just give up by the third stage because we felt extremely underpowered, and taking way too long to find the exit didn't help.
The run we finally won we got OP to the point we could just walk around betweem the 1000 mobs of big enemies and still wouldn't die.
Above all it was a gun experience, we loved it and I particularly had more fun than finishing single player.
8. 20XX [coop] (2.4 hours)
Hadn't played it in a while, when I stopped I was able to consistently win. I don't know what happened but we had a few starting runs we would die by the third boss.
20XX is always a slightly unpolished but great experience. I love how the roguelite hard decision making is in there in the form of really complex platforming sections, there was this remarkable moment my partner was like "come on, we need more items, let's do it", and I said "man, we can't afford to lose more health", so he walks slightly to the left and sees these giant fire spitting machines and was instantly "yeah, nope, never mind".
This felt like the least coop experience from all the games if it makes sense. It was like we were playing single player but together? There was very little coop strategies involved minus the occasional "you go get that item for us because I'm almost dying".
9. Broforce [coop] (4.4 hours)
Haven't actually played it singleplayer yet and man oh man, I'll never doubt the Overwhelmingly Positive crowd ever again. I was really unexcited about Broforce as I knew it was all about action movies references and I simply have no knowledge whatsoever on that topic. Also I had the feeling the humor would be this "straight man" focused kinda thing.
Went in expecting this Metal Slug / Contra gameplay with an annoying humor behind. Left feeling impressed on how the gameplay manages to be based on those games but still its own thing with its destructible short stages and its hugely different non choosable cast, and also how although I probably knew only about 10% of what the characters were referencing, we would laugh SO HARD everytime the narrator would scream the name of a boss or of a new character.
Really solid gameplay, I'll definitely come back to it on singleplayer.
10. Portal 2 [coop] (5 hours)
By far the most polished experience based on the simple fact that there was a complete campaign based around coop only. And wow. Went in knowing the level design would be absolutely genious and the puzzles would consistently impress me. No disappointments there. Game is fantastic and rightfully remembered by some as one of the bests (if not the best) of last generation.
I was more impressed with the fact that we were able to complete it however. There was some mind bending stuff going on in there. We were very proud of ourselves when the credits rolled lol.
I had this incredible roommate last month month and we played coop everyday for two weeks.
I had already completed most of the games singleplayer so I wasn't going to count them, however I spent so much quality gaming time that I just can't not put them on my list, so here we go:
6. Enter The Gungeon [coop] (~2 hours)
This is where I knew I had something special right there. Wanted to train him so maybe I could unlock
Cultist's alternate skin
After 100 hours playing singleplayer, I had a surprising lot of fun playing Gungeon coop. It's clearly a second thought and needs some tweaks still, but it's quite alright for what it offers.
7. Risk of Rain [coop] (5 hours)
This took us quite a lot of runs during 2~3 days to finally complete. Although a lot a fun there was a quite noticible luck factor involved on our runs. Sometimes we would just give up by the third stage because we felt extremely underpowered, and taking way too long to find the exit didn't help.
The run we finally won we got OP to the point we could just walk around betweem the 1000 mobs of big enemies and still wouldn't die.
Above all it was a gun experience, we loved it and I particularly had more fun than finishing single player.
8. 20XX [coop] (2.4 hours)
Hadn't played it in a while, when I stopped I was able to consistently win. I don't know what happened but we had a few starting runs we would die by the third boss.
20XX is always a slightly unpolished but great experience. I love how the roguelite hard decision making is in there in the form of really complex platforming sections, there was this remarkable moment my partner was like "come on, we need more items, let's do it", and I said "man, we can't afford to lose more health", so he walks slightly to the left and sees these giant fire spitting machines and was instantly "yeah, nope, never mind".
This felt like the least coop experience from all the games if it makes sense. It was like we were playing single player but together? There was very little coop strategies involved minus the occasional "you go get that item for us because I'm almost dying".
9. Broforce [coop] (4.4 hours)
Haven't actually played it singleplayer yet and man oh man, I'll never doubt the Overwhelmingly Positive crowd ever again. I was really unexcited about Broforce as I knew it was all about action movies references and I simply have no knowledge whatsoever on that topic. Also I had the feeling the humor would be this "straight man" focused kinda thing.
Went in expecting this Metal Slug / Contra gameplay with an annoying humor behind. Left feeling impressed on how the gameplay manages to be based on those games but still its own thing with its destructible short stages and its hugely different non choosable cast, and also how although I probably knew only about 10% of what the characters were referencing, we would laugh SO HARD everytime the narrator would scream the name of a boss or of a new character.
Really solid gameplay, I'll definitely come back to it on singleplayer.
10. Portal 2 [coop] (5 hours)
By far the most polished experience based on the simple fact that there was a complete campaign based around coop only. And wow. Went in knowing the level design would be absolutely genious and the puzzles would consistently impress me. No disappointments there. Game is fantastic and rightfully remembered by some as one of the bests (if not the best) of last generation.
I was more impressed with the fact that we were able to complete it however. There was some mind bending stuff going on in there. We were very proud of ourselves when the credits rolled lol.
Main Post - Part 1
#11: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: 18.7 hours
The plot is interesting but could probably stand to be fleshed out just a little bit more, and the characterisation is strong. The battle system is also good (especially for the time) but the abilities you have to use within it are lackluster. Most fights are a simple Attack/Heal loop with little extra strategy (though getting the tempo of that loop right is engaging) and bosses are immune to the few status effects you have access to. Timed hits are a great idea but they can't carry the combat by themselves after decades of progress.
One thing I did really like though was the dungeon design, and how often platforming is incorporated into it. It doesn't always work, (that damn frog coin that exists in some sort of 4th dimension next to a beanstalk comes to mind) but it gives the game a pretty unique flavour. It's also pretty short (especially for the 90s) so the pacing is pretty solid, though the climax doesn't quite feel earned.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Mario RPG and I looked forward to coming home and playing it more. But it's definitely a product of its time and its let down by the shallow pool of abilities available to the party.
Currently playing: In the 6th dungeon in Oracle of Seasons, and I found a copy of De Blob for $5 a week ago so I'll give that a go.
#11: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: 18.7 hours
I've had this game sitting on my Wii since it came out but I never got around to it. On top of that I played up until the final dungeon on an emulator as a kid but never finished it. I've finally got this notch on my belt now, and while it's a good game I feel like its time has mostly past.
The plot is interesting but could probably stand to be fleshed out just a little bit more, and the characterisation is strong. The battle system is also good (especially for the time) but the abilities you have to use within it are lackluster. Most fights are a simple Attack/Heal loop with little extra strategy (though getting the tempo of that loop right is engaging) and bosses are immune to the few status effects you have access to. Timed hits are a great idea but they can't carry the combat by themselves after decades of progress.
One thing I did really like though was the dungeon design, and how often platforming is incorporated into it. It doesn't always work, (that damn frog coin that exists in some sort of 4th dimension next to a beanstalk comes to mind) but it gives the game a pretty unique flavour. It's also pretty short (especially for the 90s) so the pacing is pretty solid, though the climax doesn't quite feel earned.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Mario RPG and I looked forward to coming home and playing it more. But it's definitely a product of its time and its let down by the shallow pool of abilities available to the party.
Currently playing: In the 6th dungeon in Oracle of Seasons, and I found a copy of De Blob for $5 a week ago so I'll give that a go.
A Link to the Past
Banned
Main post
Game #11: Monster Manor (3DS) - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
I liked Monster Manor well enough when I started it, but as the game went on, it became a tedious slog. Due to the limited amount of play thanks to Play Coins, I never felt the urge to get a better weapon, as I felt it would just make the game take even longer than it did (and it did take a bit of time). Eventually, my gun was doing so little damage that that it actually took multiple shots to visibly reduce the final boss' health. The problem with the game is that you don't know shit often - like with getting better weapons, I don't know if I'm pigeonholing myself by focusing on one, or if I should have more of a spread, or if even going out of my way to make a new, better gun is even worth the time. It's just kinda sloppy and doesn't fit the StreetPass formula all that well at all.
Game #12: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Basically a continuation of my comments from my Oracle of Ages write-up. I did not like Seasons as well as I did Ages, but it's a pretty excellent game in its own right, and over time I found that I appreciate some of its elements more than I used to, especially how dynamic and interesting the season-changing mechanics were. In particular, I quite enjoyed the fixed nature of the seasons changing (despite my love for A Link to the Past and Oracle of Ages' world-warping mechanics, I hate how they handle the ability to freely teleport between them, as it so often sends you back due to warping into impossible spots). It also introduces my favorite item in any Zelda game, the Roc's Cape. 'Dat double jump!
Game #13: Refunct (PC) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Refunct was good, though I felt that it never grew into something as good as it could have. It was an interesting experience, and the ending was an amusing surprise, but I wanted a little more mechanics to play with.
Game #14: The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth Plus (PC) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Yeesh, this game was pretty disappointing, and honestly, it feels like McMillen is kind of driving the series into the ground. Don't get me wrong - it is still good - but as a fan of the Isaac games, this was by far the weakest effort. A lot of disappointing concepts and items added, and frankly, the new final boss is not fun, but rather cheap and unfair. I had the Wafer and I still was worried that I would lose, even when I was running a pretty OP run.
Game #15: The Witness (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Despite my huge misgivings about Jonathan Blow, I couldn't help but enjoy The Witness quite a bit. The puzzles were sometimes a bit obtuse, but I never felt frustrated when I figured out the solution (or in a handful of cases, looked up the situation). In particular, I loved puzzles where the solution was obtained through environmental clues. The particularly enjoyable ones were the puzzles where you obtained the solution by shining light on them to reveal scuff marks, and puzzles where you have to line up the shadows of branches to figure out the path. There are two problems I have with the game, however:
1. The last part of the game is a bit of a slog, though some of the puzzles are still pretty fun (and that they introduce completely new gimmicks is testament to the quality designs).
2. The ending was really pretentious and bad lol
Game #11: Monster Manor (3DS) - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
I liked Monster Manor well enough when I started it, but as the game went on, it became a tedious slog. Due to the limited amount of play thanks to Play Coins, I never felt the urge to get a better weapon, as I felt it would just make the game take even longer than it did (and it did take a bit of time). Eventually, my gun was doing so little damage that that it actually took multiple shots to visibly reduce the final boss' health. The problem with the game is that you don't know shit often - like with getting better weapons, I don't know if I'm pigeonholing myself by focusing on one, or if I should have more of a spread, or if even going out of my way to make a new, better gun is even worth the time. It's just kinda sloppy and doesn't fit the StreetPass formula all that well at all.
Game #12: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Basically a continuation of my comments from my Oracle of Ages write-up. I did not like Seasons as well as I did Ages, but it's a pretty excellent game in its own right, and over time I found that I appreciate some of its elements more than I used to, especially how dynamic and interesting the season-changing mechanics were. In particular, I quite enjoyed the fixed nature of the seasons changing (despite my love for A Link to the Past and Oracle of Ages' world-warping mechanics, I hate how they handle the ability to freely teleport between them, as it so often sends you back due to warping into impossible spots). It also introduces my favorite item in any Zelda game, the Roc's Cape. 'Dat double jump!
Game #13: Refunct (PC) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Refunct was good, though I felt that it never grew into something as good as it could have. It was an interesting experience, and the ending was an amusing surprise, but I wanted a little more mechanics to play with.
Game #14: The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth Plus (PC) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Yeesh, this game was pretty disappointing, and honestly, it feels like McMillen is kind of driving the series into the ground. Don't get me wrong - it is still good - but as a fan of the Isaac games, this was by far the weakest effort. A lot of disappointing concepts and items added, and frankly, the new final boss is not fun, but rather cheap and unfair. I had the Wafer and I still was worried that I would lose, even when I was running a pretty OP run.
Game #15: The Witness (PS4) - ★★★★★★★★★★
Despite my huge misgivings about Jonathan Blow, I couldn't help but enjoy The Witness quite a bit. The puzzles were sometimes a bit obtuse, but I never felt frustrated when I figured out the solution (or in a handful of cases, looked up the situation). In particular, I loved puzzles where the solution was obtained through environmental clues. The particularly enjoyable ones were the puzzles where you obtained the solution by shining light on them to reveal scuff marks, and puzzles where you have to line up the shadows of branches to figure out the path. There are two problems I have with the game, however:
1. The last part of the game is a bit of a slog, though some of the puzzles are still pretty fun (and that they introduce completely new gimmicks is testament to the quality designs).
2. The ending was really pretentious and bad lol
Roberto Duran
Member
7) Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
Worst game I've played this year so far. It was fun at the beginning, but I hated the dual castle design. It ended up being too tedious.
Gauntlet - Slayer Edition
Platform: PS4
Time: ~6:00
Date: 02.11
Score: (4/5)
Gauntlet got a bit of a bad rap when it launched in 2014, but it's one of my favorite top-down ARPGs/hack and slash games/Diablo-likes in recent memory. I like this game a LOT, but it has too many rough spots to justify the full 5/5 I'd like to give it.
I've beaten Gauntlet twice previously (normal and hard, both accounts 2p), but this was my first time playing it 4p. 4p is awesome and my favorite way to play, but it also highlights the games biggest faults.
First, instead of equipment-drops Gauntlet chooses to drop only gold, which is used to upgrade your character between levels. The game doesn't share gold in MP, which creates a really fun competitive co-op mix, and the game builds on this in a number of small but cool ways: A percentage of money can be stolen if you die; the character with the most gold is labeled Greediest Hero at the end of the level; a random monster drops a crown in each level, which can be picked up by one character for a bonus 500 gold, but the crown is dropped if you die or are knocked over and can them be stolen. A lot of joy is found in this money mechanic. However, the game does not appear to adjust the amount of gold found in each level when more players are added to the game. Everyone gets less gold, it seems, and the upgrades become far rarer than they should be. The game already uses a small moveset for each character, and the upgrades available are extremely limited, so this strike against the upgrade system is extra painful.
Second, the heroes available. In my opinion and in my group's opinion, the Elf is easily the best character in the game. The Warrior was also loved. The Valkyrie feels flaccid next to the Warrior, and the Wizard is overly complex with no payoff. The Necromancer, a $5 DLC character, is also a ton of fun, but the fact remains that one or more players are stuck with a substandard character in a 4p game.
Third, the game's length. The four of us beat the game in two sittings, and the estimated six hours of playtime is on the generous side. The developer intended you to keep playing on hard, endless mode, and in the Colosseum (a weekly challenge mode that offers cosmetic rewards), but my friends have no interest in going through it again. I'd be happy with a $10 DLC that gives me another 6 hour campaign, but the Necromancer is the only DLC the game ever got.
Even with these flaws, I still had a ton of fun playing through the game again. It has the perfect amount of fan service for those of us who look back on the older games fondly. What's more is that this Gauntlet very much feels like a modernization of a series that has already successfully been modernized once. It's true to its roots while also fitting in well with its contemporary peers. Also, it's just a ton of fun.
Platform: PS4
Time: ~6:00
Date: 02.11
Score: (4/5)
Gauntlet got a bit of a bad rap when it launched in 2014, but it's one of my favorite top-down ARPGs/hack and slash games/Diablo-likes in recent memory. I like this game a LOT, but it has too many rough spots to justify the full 5/5 I'd like to give it.
I've beaten Gauntlet twice previously (normal and hard, both accounts 2p), but this was my first time playing it 4p. 4p is awesome and my favorite way to play, but it also highlights the games biggest faults.
First, instead of equipment-drops Gauntlet chooses to drop only gold, which is used to upgrade your character between levels. The game doesn't share gold in MP, which creates a really fun competitive co-op mix, and the game builds on this in a number of small but cool ways: A percentage of money can be stolen if you die; the character with the most gold is labeled Greediest Hero at the end of the level; a random monster drops a crown in each level, which can be picked up by one character for a bonus 500 gold, but the crown is dropped if you die or are knocked over and can them be stolen. A lot of joy is found in this money mechanic. However, the game does not appear to adjust the amount of gold found in each level when more players are added to the game. Everyone gets less gold, it seems, and the upgrades become far rarer than they should be. The game already uses a small moveset for each character, and the upgrades available are extremely limited, so this strike against the upgrade system is extra painful.
Second, the heroes available. In my opinion and in my group's opinion, the Elf is easily the best character in the game. The Warrior was also loved. The Valkyrie feels flaccid next to the Warrior, and the Wizard is overly complex with no payoff. The Necromancer, a $5 DLC character, is also a ton of fun, but the fact remains that one or more players are stuck with a substandard character in a 4p game.
Third, the game's length. The four of us beat the game in two sittings, and the estimated six hours of playtime is on the generous side. The developer intended you to keep playing on hard, endless mode, and in the Colosseum (a weekly challenge mode that offers cosmetic rewards), but my friends have no interest in going through it again. I'd be happy with a $10 DLC that gives me another 6 hour campaign, but the Necromancer is the only DLC the game ever got.
Even with these flaws, I still had a ton of fun playing through the game again. It has the perfect amount of fan service for those of us who look back on the older games fondly. What's more is that this Gauntlet very much feels like a modernization of a series that has already successfully been modernized once. It's true to its roots while also fitting in well with its contemporary peers. Also, it's just a ton of fun.
Original Post
Game 2 - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Very fun game, if not short. For some reason not being able to jump made the game feel weird.
Game 3 - Dragon Quest VI
I bought this on launch day in the US (2/11!), and while I've enjoyed every other game in the series that I've played (half of all the numbered titles). This one was probably one of the dullest games I've ever played, I really didn't find it all interesting.
Game 2 - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Very fun game, if not short. For some reason not being able to jump made the game feel weird.
Game 3 - Dragon Quest VI
I bought this on launch day in the US (2/11!), and while I've enjoyed every other game in the series that I've played (half of all the numbered titles). This one was probably one of the dullest games I've ever played, I really didn't find it all interesting.
mattwhite924
Member
Main Post
Game 7: Persona 4: Dancing All Night
I enjoyed the story, though it feels like the Persona 4 cast are almost becoming parodies of themselves at this point. Felt more like a visual novel with random dancing thrown in for no apparent reason. Still, I enjoyed it as a way to spend more time with characters I like.
Game 8: Hammerwatch
Very much a Gauntlet style game. The levels feel a bit too big, and the secrets are a bit too cryptic, but it's still a ton of fun playing with a friend.
Game 9: Gravity Rush
Enjoyed the crap out of this game. It's not perfect by any means, the controls and combat never feel quite right, but as a whole it's way better than the sum of it's parts. The characters and setting are charming, the chapters are varied enough that I didn't get bored, and it left me excited to play the sequel.
Game 7: Persona 4: Dancing All Night
I enjoyed the story, though it feels like the Persona 4 cast are almost becoming parodies of themselves at this point. Felt more like a visual novel with random dancing thrown in for no apparent reason. Still, I enjoyed it as a way to spend more time with characters I like.
Game 8: Hammerwatch
Very much a Gauntlet style game. The levels feel a bit too big, and the secrets are a bit too cryptic, but it's still a ton of fun playing with a friend.
Game 9: Gravity Rush
Enjoyed the crap out of this game. It's not perfect by any means, the controls and combat never feel quite right, but as a whole it's way better than the sum of it's parts. The characters and setting are charming, the chapters are varied enough that I didn't get bored, and it left me excited to play the sequel.
Here's mine so far:
1. Chrono Trigger
2. Legend of Zelda NES
3. Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+ (not finished)
4. Darkest Dungeon (not finished)
5. Steins Gate
6. Resident Evil 7
7. GameBoy Tetris (*not finished ever but counting it because I play it all year)
8. Nioh (not finished)
1. Chrono Trigger
2. Legend of Zelda NES
3. Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+ (not finished)
4. Darkest Dungeon (not finished)
5. Steins Gate
6. Resident Evil 7
7. GameBoy Tetris (*not finished ever but counting it because I play it all year)
8. Nioh (not finished)
A Link to the Past
Banned
I beat that one last year, and I kinda agree that it was a disappointment and was a tedious slog at the end.
hersheyfan
Member
Link to original post
Getting off to a good start for February:
8) Press X To Not Die
Platform: PC
Finished 2/11/17 - 28 minutes as per Steam
FMV game in the old Sega CD style - hilariously low budget, was good for a bunch of laughs. Thankfully it was cheap when I got it several Steam sales ago... got my jollies then deleted it immediately after.
9) Arslan: The Warriors of Legend
Platform: PC
Finished 2/12/17 - 8.9 hours as per Steam
Bought it during the Tecmo pub weekend, and got so hooked on it that i polished the entire thing off in two sittings (over the past few days). I've never seen the show or read the manga/novel, and this game has me very interested to give both a try. Although obviously a Cliff's Notes version of the plot, it lets you know enough to keep you motivated. Also, ran at a stable 60FPS with no hitches, surprising for a KT title.
Getting off to a good start for February:
8) Press X To Not Die
Platform: PC
Finished 2/11/17 - 28 minutes as per Steam
FMV game in the old Sega CD style - hilariously low budget, was good for a bunch of laughs. Thankfully it was cheap when I got it several Steam sales ago... got my jollies then deleted it immediately after.
9) Arslan: The Warriors of Legend
Platform: PC
Finished 2/12/17 - 8.9 hours as per Steam
Bought it during the Tecmo pub weekend, and got so hooked on it that i polished the entire thing off in two sittings (over the past few days). I've never seen the show or read the manga/novel, and this game has me very interested to give both a try. Although obviously a Cliff's Notes version of the plot, it lets you know enough to keep you motivated. Also, ran at a stable 60FPS with no hitches, surprising for a KT title.
Main Post - Part 1
#12: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons: 17.9 hours
A lot of the items are returning but get upgraded or used in cool new ways, and the handful of new items are unique and interesting. Dungeons are good but they tend to be the best part of a 2D Zelda so I'm not surprised. The Rod of Seasons and the core seasons changing mechanic is one of my favourite Zelda gimmicks so far, even if it just changes a few things, I really like the dimension puzzle solving with such a known quantity adds to overworld traversal.
I usually take a break before getting into the next game in a series to prevent fatigue and so they don't blur together as much, but I'm definitely itching to get into Oracle of Ages now.
#13: Link's Crossbow Training: 1.5 hours
There's 9 stages but they all consist of 3 unrelated parts, and there's a good amount of variety in the levels. Some are rail shooting, some involve shooting a 360 arc of oncoming enemies in third person and some are free roaming and require you to hunt down enemies. There's also a few boss fights which switch it up even more. So the game's lacking a little in content and all the assets are from Twilight Princess but the variety makes up for it and I got the game for free off of someone that paid $2.50 for it so I can't complain.
Currently playing: I tried playing Super Mario Bros 3, was finding the platforming a little slippery for me to persist but I might come back to it.
#12: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons: 17.9 hours
I am really loving the 2D Zelda games lately. Oracle of Seasons is very obviously using a lot of Link's Awakening assets but it also feels enough like its own thing because of the addition of new mechanics. You can collect rings to give yourself passive bonuses but that feature seems a little undercooked. There's also a seed mechanic where you can collect 5 different kinds of seed that function as your lantern, teleport, and dash among other things. There's also three animal buddies, but I don't like the way this mechanic is used. Each animal buddy is found in an area near one or two puzzles they can be used to solve, and you gain the ability to summon one of them to use wherever on the overworld. But because it can be any of them they're not used for puzzles anywhere else in the game and I basically never called on mine again. As I understand it all three reappear in Ages so maybe it would have been nice to focus on one in each game and have them be useful throughout.
A lot of the items are returning but get upgraded or used in cool new ways, and the handful of new items are unique and interesting. Dungeons are good but they tend to be the best part of a 2D Zelda so I'm not surprised. The Rod of Seasons and the core seasons changing mechanic is one of my favourite Zelda gimmicks so far, even if it just changes a few things, I really like the dimension puzzle solving with such a known quantity adds to overworld traversal.
I usually take a break before getting into the next game in a series to prevent fatigue and so they don't blur together as much, but I'm definitely itching to get into Oracle of Ages now.
#13: Link's Crossbow Training: 1.5 hours
Yes the game is actually that short, and I got platinum medals in every level. Getting high scores requires calm because the score multiplier increases by 1 per hit with no maximum, so a good run involves just racking up as high a combo as possible. The aim feels a little forgiving at times if you're firing into the distance but overall the difficulty is nice if a tad on the easy side.
There's 9 stages but they all consist of 3 unrelated parts, and there's a good amount of variety in the levels. Some are rail shooting, some involve shooting a 360 arc of oncoming enemies in third person and some are free roaming and require you to hunt down enemies. There's also a few boss fights which switch it up even more. So the game's lacking a little in content and all the assets are from Twilight Princess but the variety makes up for it and I got the game for free off of someone that paid $2.50 for it so I can't complain.
Currently playing: I tried playing Super Mario Bros 3, was finding the platforming a little slippery for me to persist but I might come back to it.
..::|[INDEX]|::..
01. Please, Don't Touch Anything (Steam, 2017/01/09, 2 hours)
02. STAR WARS Rogue Squadron 3D (Steam, 2017/01/24, 6.9 hours)
03. The Last Guardian (PS4, 2017/02/03, less than 15 hours)
04. SUPERHOT (Steam, 2017/02/11, 3 hours)
05. Lume (Steam, 2017/02/19, 1.5 hours)
06. Lumino City (Steam, 2017/02/25, 4.7 hours)
07. Peggle Deluxe (Steam, 2017/02/26, 3.9 hours)
08. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Steam, 2017/03/07, in-game clock 6.66 hours)
09. Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo (Steam, 2017/03/09, 1 hour)
10. Fire Arrow Plus (Steam, 2017/03/12, 0.4 hours)
11. Super Star Path (Steam, 2017/03/14, 3.2 hours)
12. REVOLVER360 RE:ACTOR (Steam, 2017/03/19, 3.7 hours)
13. Rayman Legends (PS4, 2017/03/26, ~16 hours)
14. RIVE (Steam, 2017/03/28, 4.6 hours)
15. Rez Infinite (PS4, 2017/03/30, ~2 hours)
16. Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders (FM Towns, 2017/04/11, ~6 hours)
17. Cosmic Cavern 3671 (Steam, 2017/04/15, 4.1 hours)
18. INSIDE (Steam, 2017/04/22, 3.5 hours)
19. Gravity Rush 2 (PS4, 2017/04/30, 35 hours)
20. Shadow Warrior 2013 (Steam, 2017/05/07, 16.3 hours)
21. Human: Fall Flat (Steam, 2017/05/20, 7.5 hours)
22. WOLFLAME (Steam, 2017/05/24, 1.2 hours)
23. Tower of Archeos (Steam, 2017/05/27, 5.3 hours)
24. Unfinished Swan (PS4, 2017/05/28, less than 2 hours)
25. Defunct (Steam, 2017/06/04, 1.4 hours)
26. LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS4, 2017/06/08, ~6 hours)
27. Montaro (Steam, 2017/06/09, 1.5 hours)
28. The Turing Test (Steam, 2017/06/18, 7 hours)
29. Nex Machina (Steam, 2017/06/24, 1.7 hours)
30. Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4, 2017/07/10), 70 hours, 100%, Plat)
31. Samorost 3 (Steam, 2017/07/23, 4.3 hours)
32. Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (Steam, 2017/07/23, 1 hour)
33. Princess Remedy in a Heap of Trouble (Steam, 2017/07/26, 1 hour)
34. Clustertruck (Steam, 2017/07/30, 6.4 hours)
35. Shadow Complex Remastered (Steam, 2017/08/12, 7.9 hours)
36. FullBlast (Steam, 2017/08/12, 2.3 hours)
37. Pang Adventures (Steam, 2017/08/18, 4.6 hours)
38. RAGE (Steam, 2017/08/27, 13.8 hours)
39. Plug & Play (Steam, 2017/08/31, 0.2 hours)
40. Until Dawn (PS4, 2017/09/05, ~6-7 hours, roughly two DualShock4 charges)
41. Pink Hour (Steam, 2017/09/07, 0.2 hours)
42. Pink Heaven (Steam, 2017/09/07, 0.3 hours)
43. Kero Blaster (Steam, 2017/09/10, 3.8 hours)
44. Epistory - Typing Chronicles (Steam, 2017/09/17, 7.5 hours)
45. SATAZIUS (Steam, 2017/09/25, 1.3 hours)
This SHMUP is definitely inspired by more traditional shoot 'em ups like Gradius and R-Type. The sprite work, enemies, stages aren't stellar, but also not horrible and do have a certain hobbyist handcrafted charm. The gameplay is well tuned and strikes the right balance in terms of difficulty.
46. Star Fox 2 (SNES, 2017/09/29, 1.5 hours)
Nice to see this game finally released as faithful and unapologetic as it gets. The framerate is clearly not up to today's standards, but serviceable given the context of its platform and background. The 3rd person view flight is still well tuned and fun. The gameplay got supplemented with RTS elements instead of the linear paths of the original. Some battle locations feature fairly open areas and even environmental puzzles. The Star Fox series always reminded me of Starglider 2, which I played for endless hours on Amiga. The first game was more of an arcade style adaptation, but the second one got closer to Starglider 2. I even asked Dylan Cuthbert directly and he confirmed the similarities not being accidental. I've enjoyed clearing this blast from the past, but wish Nintendo hadn't held it back and released the game in its time.
01. Please, Don't Touch Anything (Steam, 2017/01/09, 2 hours)
02. STAR WARS Rogue Squadron 3D (Steam, 2017/01/24, 6.9 hours)
03. The Last Guardian (PS4, 2017/02/03, less than 15 hours)
04. SUPERHOT (Steam, 2017/02/11, 3 hours)
05. Lume (Steam, 2017/02/19, 1.5 hours)
06. Lumino City (Steam, 2017/02/25, 4.7 hours)
07. Peggle Deluxe (Steam, 2017/02/26, 3.9 hours)
08. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Steam, 2017/03/07, in-game clock 6.66 hours)
09. Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo (Steam, 2017/03/09, 1 hour)
10. Fire Arrow Plus (Steam, 2017/03/12, 0.4 hours)
11. Super Star Path (Steam, 2017/03/14, 3.2 hours)
12. REVOLVER360 RE:ACTOR (Steam, 2017/03/19, 3.7 hours)
13. Rayman Legends (PS4, 2017/03/26, ~16 hours)
14. RIVE (Steam, 2017/03/28, 4.6 hours)
15. Rez Infinite (PS4, 2017/03/30, ~2 hours)
16. Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders (FM Towns, 2017/04/11, ~6 hours)
17. Cosmic Cavern 3671 (Steam, 2017/04/15, 4.1 hours)
18. INSIDE (Steam, 2017/04/22, 3.5 hours)
19. Gravity Rush 2 (PS4, 2017/04/30, 35 hours)
20. Shadow Warrior 2013 (Steam, 2017/05/07, 16.3 hours)
21. Human: Fall Flat (Steam, 2017/05/20, 7.5 hours)
22. WOLFLAME (Steam, 2017/05/24, 1.2 hours)
23. Tower of Archeos (Steam, 2017/05/27, 5.3 hours)
24. Unfinished Swan (PS4, 2017/05/28, less than 2 hours)
25. Defunct (Steam, 2017/06/04, 1.4 hours)
26. LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS4, 2017/06/08, ~6 hours)
27. Montaro (Steam, 2017/06/09, 1.5 hours)
28. The Turing Test (Steam, 2017/06/18, 7 hours)
29. Nex Machina (Steam, 2017/06/24, 1.7 hours)
30. Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4, 2017/07/10), 70 hours, 100%, Plat)
31. Samorost 3 (Steam, 2017/07/23, 4.3 hours)
32. Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (Steam, 2017/07/23, 1 hour)
33. Princess Remedy in a Heap of Trouble (Steam, 2017/07/26, 1 hour)
34. Clustertruck (Steam, 2017/07/30, 6.4 hours)
35. Shadow Complex Remastered (Steam, 2017/08/12, 7.9 hours)
36. FullBlast (Steam, 2017/08/12, 2.3 hours)
37. Pang Adventures (Steam, 2017/08/18, 4.6 hours)
38. RAGE (Steam, 2017/08/27, 13.8 hours)
39. Plug & Play (Steam, 2017/08/31, 0.2 hours)
40. Until Dawn (PS4, 2017/09/05, ~6-7 hours, roughly two DualShock4 charges)
41. Pink Hour (Steam, 2017/09/07, 0.2 hours)
42. Pink Heaven (Steam, 2017/09/07, 0.3 hours)
43. Kero Blaster (Steam, 2017/09/10, 3.8 hours)
44. Epistory - Typing Chronicles (Steam, 2017/09/17, 7.5 hours)
45. SATAZIUS (Steam, 2017/09/25, 1.3 hours)
This SHMUP is definitely inspired by more traditional shoot 'em ups like Gradius and R-Type. The sprite work, enemies, stages aren't stellar, but also not horrible and do have a certain hobbyist handcrafted charm. The gameplay is well tuned and strikes the right balance in terms of difficulty.
46. Star Fox 2 (SNES, 2017/09/29, 1.5 hours)
Nice to see this game finally released as faithful and unapologetic as it gets. The framerate is clearly not up to today's standards, but serviceable given the context of its platform and background. The 3rd person view flight is still well tuned and fun. The gameplay got supplemented with RTS elements instead of the linear paths of the original. Some battle locations feature fairly open areas and even environmental puzzles. The Star Fox series always reminded me of Starglider 2, which I played for endless hours on Amiga. The first game was more of an arcade style adaptation, but the second one got closer to Starglider 2. I even asked Dylan Cuthbert directly and he confirmed the similarities not being accidental. I've enjoyed clearing this blast from the past, but wish Nintendo hadn't held it back and released the game in its time.
01. Please, Don't Touch Anything (Steam, 2017/01/09, 2 hours)
I touched everything in this single screen puzzle game about restroom breaks and the resulting demise of all humanity. I found about 8 endings myself and the rest with help. Some of the puzzles are too tricky to figure out, lots of pixel peeping, esoteric hints and clues hidden in plain sight. The soundtrack, humor and creative endings made me go through with it all.
02. STAR WARS Rogue Squadron 3D (Steam, 2017/01/24, 6.9 hours)
Rogue One reminded me how much I loved Rogue Squadron II and III on NGC. The games were so close to the movie in terms of presentation and its locations, that they induced a constant feeling of dé vu while watching the film. Reflecting on all this, made me realize that I've never played the first game in the series. No N64 at hand, I was thrilled to learn that Factor5 also released on PC back in 1998. Luckily the game was currently on sale 60% off, YOINK. The visuals aged surprisingly well and PC being open to "improvements" made it a joy to play this 19 years old game. Thanks to nGlide, a 3Dfx Voodoo to Direct X wrapper, I could downsample from 4K to 1200p with proper anisotropic filtering for much cleaner and smoother visuals. Whoever published this on Steam and GOG went the extra mile and added a backend for full controller support "out of the box". The gameplay is very arcade, fun and holds up to this day. Rogue Squadron is a 3D third "person" fighter sim with missions in the expanded Star Wars universe. The missions are multi tiered and objective based. This first game wasn't as refined as the follow ups and clearing some missions required serious trial and error. The missions are only 5-10 minutes long, so it's no biggie. The story snippets were full of nice little surprises and fan service. I really enjoyed going back to this series.
03. The Last Guardian (PS4, 2017/02/03, less than 15 hours)
It's really a 9 years kinda game, in the best and worst possible way. The good: insane layers upon layers of polish, the bad: built on a foundation of a dungball like code base. It's beyond me how any of this was suppose to work on PS3. The game got moments of horrible slowdowns and lots of jittery frame pacing. Luckily 90% of the playtime it's all serviceable. That said, it's still one of the best games on the PS4 in my opinion. Team ICO delivered again: amazing level design, detail rich environments, stunning animation, tons of physics, top notch sound design, movie like lighting and a heartwarming story about two unlikely companions. The Last Guardian is a must for fans of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Props to Sony for seeing this one through.
04. SUPERHOT (Steam, 2017/02/11, 3 hours)
Bullet time, the first person shooter. Time moves in slow-mo and only speeds up when the player moves. The fire fights are more like puzzles of action movie choreography in which you are the actor and director. The scene snaps out of time lapse once every hostile is taken care of and the whole ballet of death will be replayed in real-time. BUT wait, there's more. The story is told in-game and in the game's menu. The interface is a custom DOS-like EGA ASCII driven OS displayed with CRT like barrel distortion and luminance artifacts. The story telling switches back and forth between this ancient UI and the state of the art 3D rendering in the gameplay portion. The transitions of old and new, the whole presentation goes way beyond necessity and screams 90s demo-scene prowess. Not the longest "campaign", but new modes unlock upon completion and they do extend the replay value. SUPERHOT game, not overly difficult but super enjoyable nevertheless.
[index]
I touched everything in this single screen puzzle game about restroom breaks and the resulting demise of all humanity. I found about 8 endings myself and the rest with help. Some of the puzzles are too tricky to figure out, lots of pixel peeping, esoteric hints and clues hidden in plain sight. The soundtrack, humor and creative endings made me go through with it all.
02. STAR WARS Rogue Squadron 3D (Steam, 2017/01/24, 6.9 hours)
Rogue One reminded me how much I loved Rogue Squadron II and III on NGC. The games were so close to the movie in terms of presentation and its locations, that they induced a constant feeling of dé vu while watching the film. Reflecting on all this, made me realize that I've never played the first game in the series. No N64 at hand, I was thrilled to learn that Factor5 also released on PC back in 1998. Luckily the game was currently on sale 60% off, YOINK. The visuals aged surprisingly well and PC being open to "improvements" made it a joy to play this 19 years old game. Thanks to nGlide, a 3Dfx Voodoo to Direct X wrapper, I could downsample from 4K to 1200p with proper anisotropic filtering for much cleaner and smoother visuals. Whoever published this on Steam and GOG went the extra mile and added a backend for full controller support "out of the box". The gameplay is very arcade, fun and holds up to this day. Rogue Squadron is a 3D third "person" fighter sim with missions in the expanded Star Wars universe. The missions are multi tiered and objective based. This first game wasn't as refined as the follow ups and clearing some missions required serious trial and error. The missions are only 5-10 minutes long, so it's no biggie. The story snippets were full of nice little surprises and fan service. I really enjoyed going back to this series.
03. The Last Guardian (PS4, 2017/02/03, less than 15 hours)
It's really a 9 years kinda game, in the best and worst possible way. The good: insane layers upon layers of polish, the bad: built on a foundation of a dungball like code base. It's beyond me how any of this was suppose to work on PS3. The game got moments of horrible slowdowns and lots of jittery frame pacing. Luckily 90% of the playtime it's all serviceable. That said, it's still one of the best games on the PS4 in my opinion. Team ICO delivered again: amazing level design, detail rich environments, stunning animation, tons of physics, top notch sound design, movie like lighting and a heartwarming story about two unlikely companions. The Last Guardian is a must for fans of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Props to Sony for seeing this one through.
04. SUPERHOT (Steam, 2017/02/11, 3 hours)
Bullet time, the first person shooter. Time moves in slow-mo and only speeds up when the player moves. The fire fights are more like puzzles of action movie choreography in which you are the actor and director. The scene snaps out of time lapse once every hostile is taken care of and the whole ballet of death will be replayed in real-time. BUT wait, there's more. The story is told in-game and in the game's menu. The interface is a custom DOS-like EGA ASCII driven OS displayed with CRT like barrel distortion and luminance artifacts. The story telling switches back and forth between this ancient UI and the state of the art 3D rendering in the gameplay portion. The transitions of old and new, the whole presentation goes way beyond necessity and screams 90s demo-scene prowess. Not the longest "campaign", but new modes unlock upon completion and they do extend the replay value. SUPERHOT game, not overly difficult but super enjoyable nevertheless.
[index]
Part 1
Part 2
#11 - Homefront Revolution - The Voice of Freedom ~2 hour
#12 - Homefront Revolution - Aftermath ~2 hour
Two fairly short DLCs. I was disappointed to be honest when both ended just because of that.
#13 - Power Hover - ~5 hours
Very addicting hoverboarding game.
#14 - Rise of the Tomb Raider - Blood Ties - ~2 hours
#15 - Ryse: Son of Rome - ~10 hours
It's beautiful looking game. I just wish it had had more gameplay variety.
#16 - Dying Light - ~40 hours
#17 - Dying Light: The Following ~10 hours
I liked the game, but I feel like some enemies are bit too 'bullet' sponge and take way too long to take down.
Traversal is very fun.
While running over zombies with car in DLC is fun, I didn't like area in DLC as much, as everything is much more apart and towards end driving starts to feel bit tedious.
Possibly next
Pillars of Eternity
Rise of The Tomb Raider - Baba Yaga
The Witcher 3 DLC
Total Warhammer
The Evil Within
Part 2
#11 - Homefront Revolution - The Voice of Freedom ~2 hour
#12 - Homefront Revolution - Aftermath ~2 hour
Two fairly short DLCs. I was disappointed to be honest when both ended just because of that.
#13 - Power Hover - ~5 hours
Very addicting hoverboarding game.
#14 - Rise of the Tomb Raider - Blood Ties - ~2 hours
#15 - Ryse: Son of Rome - ~10 hours
It's beautiful looking game. I just wish it had had more gameplay variety.
#16 - Dying Light - ~40 hours
#17 - Dying Light: The Following ~10 hours
I liked the game, but I feel like some enemies are bit too 'bullet' sponge and take way too long to take down.
Traversal is very fun.
While running over zombies with car in DLC is fun, I didn't like area in DLC as much, as everything is much more apart and towards end driving starts to feel bit tedious.
Possibly next
Pillars of Eternity
Rise of The Tomb Raider - Baba Yaga
The Witcher 3 DLC
Total Warhammer
The Evil Within
Ceallach
Smells like fresh rosebuds
Oh man, havent updated in awhile.
Finished:
#2 Dragon Quest Builders, PS4
Great game, very DQ. I love the premise is that it is a sequel to DQ1 but if the hero chose to side with the Dragonlord.
#3 Donkey Kong, NES Classic
So much fun, I love putting DK through the paces
#4 Drakengard, PS2
In prep for Nier:A I have been replaying the DOD games,1 holds up really well, so great. Played through all paths.
#5 Dragon Ball Fusions, 3ds
This was so, so good. Story was ok, but I loved catching all the characters and fusing. Too many bad OCs tho.
#6 Drakengard 2
2 does not hold up as well as 1. Nowe is annoying and overall it is just not as compelling of an experience.
#7 Resident Evil 7
Pretty much played nonstop for 2 days. Goddamn was it good. Great change of pace, but I have so many questions!
#8 Drakengard 3
Now DOD3 is amazing. I love Zero, and all of the paths are compelling as hell. I really hope after Nier:A we get a 4th DOD in the vein of 3.
Finished:
#2 Dragon Quest Builders, PS4
Great game, very DQ. I love the premise is that it is a sequel to DQ1 but if the hero chose to side with the Dragonlord.
#3 Donkey Kong, NES Classic
So much fun, I love putting DK through the paces
#4 Drakengard, PS2
In prep for Nier:A I have been replaying the DOD games,1 holds up really well, so great. Played through all paths.
#5 Dragon Ball Fusions, 3ds
This was so, so good. Story was ok, but I loved catching all the characters and fusing. Too many bad OCs tho.
#6 Drakengard 2
2 does not hold up as well as 1. Nowe is annoying and overall it is just not as compelling of an experience.
#7 Resident Evil 7
Pretty much played nonstop for 2 days. Goddamn was it good. Great change of pace, but I have so many questions!
#8 Drakengard 3
Now DOD3 is amazing. I love Zero, and all of the paths are compelling as hell. I really hope after Nier:A we get a 4th DOD in the vein of 3.
OP
GAME #9 - Fire Emblem Heroes - ??? Hours (But probably too many) - 6/10 - 2/12/17
I'm still going to keep playing this because I like seeing numbers go up, but I beat all of the available story missions on normal and got to the "end" of the story, so I'm considering it beaten for the purposes of this thread.
Anyway, this is actually the first ever mobile game that I've ever played for any real length of time, and I certainly could've done worse. I didn't spend any money, but I did re-install the game a few times to get a 5 star hero to start with (it was Marth). And then I got lucky and ended up with three more after that (Tharja, Takumi, and another Takumi), so clearly someone likes me if I was able to get that lucky without having to spend money.
The game is obviously less deep than traditional FE games (attacks can't miss, no crit chance, no support convos, less units per fight, etc.) but I understand why this is the case, and with regard to less units per map I actually appreciate being able to tap my screen a couple of times and win a fight in a minute or two.
The biggest complaint I have about the game is the balancing. 5 star units are so absurdly powerful in comparison to weaker units that if you have enough of them you don't need to worry about strategy all that much. With my all 5 star team I steamrolled through the normal story and only felt challenged on the very last mission. In contrast, one my first try through the game I didn't have any 5 star units and hit a roadblock early on in chapter 8 where my 4 star units just didn't have it in them and I would've had to grind a couple of levels for each to get through it.
Still, not a terrible game by any means. I'll keep tapping away at it for a while I feel.
GAME #9 - Fire Emblem Heroes - ??? Hours (But probably too many) - 6/10 - 2/12/17
I'm still going to keep playing this because I like seeing numbers go up, but I beat all of the available story missions on normal and got to the "end" of the story, so I'm considering it beaten for the purposes of this thread.
Anyway, this is actually the first ever mobile game that I've ever played for any real length of time, and I certainly could've done worse. I didn't spend any money, but I did re-install the game a few times to get a 5 star hero to start with (it was Marth). And then I got lucky and ended up with three more after that (Tharja, Takumi, and another Takumi), so clearly someone likes me if I was able to get that lucky without having to spend money.
The game is obviously less deep than traditional FE games (attacks can't miss, no crit chance, no support convos, less units per fight, etc.) but I understand why this is the case, and with regard to less units per map I actually appreciate being able to tap my screen a couple of times and win a fight in a minute or two.
The biggest complaint I have about the game is the balancing. 5 star units are so absurdly powerful in comparison to weaker units that if you have enough of them you don't need to worry about strategy all that much. With my all 5 star team I steamrolled through the normal story and only felt challenged on the very last mission. In contrast, one my first try through the game I didn't have any 5 star units and hit a roadblock early on in chapter 8 where my 4 star units just didn't have it in them and I would've had to grind a couple of levels for each to get through it.
Still, not a terrible game by any means. I'll keep tapping away at it for a while I feel.
A Link to the Past
Banned
That's a really good idea about the animal helpers. Moosh and Ricky I enjoy as far as movement goes, but not so much that I try to use the flute. I also agree about the rings - I just tend to use one or two rings, usually the power up/defense down rings and maybe the one that doesn't let your bomb explode if you're holding it.
Werckmeister
Neo Member
I've been closely following last year's challenge and made an account to participate this year. Having kept track of my completed games so far I however realized just how much time I'm spending with mobile games (sharing the TV screen with my girlfriend highly reduces the amount of time I'm able to play on my PS4).
Of 17 games so far, 6 are on PS4 and 11 on iOS. Any recommendation how to proceed? Only include PS4 games, or would you also count the iOS games? I've for example played Steamworld Heist, Transistor, Bastion and Severed on Ipad, I don't see any particular reason they shouldn't be included in the list since they are fully ported games. But also count shorter games like Prune or Monument Valley? In the end I don't really care about beating the challenge or even be included in the Hall of Fame, I simply like the very idea of this challenge and would like to be part of it.
Of 17 games so far, 6 are on PS4 and 11 on iOS. Any recommendation how to proceed? Only include PS4 games, or would you also count the iOS games? I've for example played Steamworld Heist, Transistor, Bastion and Severed on Ipad, I don't see any particular reason they shouldn't be included in the list since they are fully ported games. But also count shorter games like Prune or Monument Valley? In the end I don't really care about beating the challenge or even be included in the Hall of Fame, I simply like the very idea of this challenge and would like to be part of it.
Ted
Member
I'm not the OP or any kind of authority but I think you should include anything you feel should be included.
Mobile games, though shorter and usually designed to be consumed in smaller chunks, are still games and you are still playing, completing and hopefully enjoying them so why not?
Personally I like reading comments on smaller games just as much as I do full on AAA products so I'd urge you to post them all. Good luck whatever you decide to do Werckmeister.
Game 6: Rayman Legends (PS3) - no time
Fantastic plattformer! It has great fluidity and a steady learning curve. I had around 500 teensies as I completeted it. I did not complete many invasion paintings because they are super meat boy hard and incredible fast paced. The same goes for the black rayman paintings. The best levels were the music levels, such a great idea! I also played the entire game in coop which was a great experience. I cannot see myself going for all 700 teensies since you have to be very dedicated for all the invasion paintings. Time to move on to the next game.
Coming up next: Bayonetta
Fantastic plattformer! It has great fluidity and a steady learning curve. I had around 500 teensies as I completeted it. I did not complete many invasion paintings because they are super meat boy hard and incredible fast paced. The same goes for the black rayman paintings. The best levels were the music levels, such a great idea! I also played the entire game in coop which was a great experience. I cannot see myself going for all 700 teensies since you have to be very dedicated for all the invasion paintings. Time to move on to the next game.
Coming up next: Bayonetta
Werckmeister
Neo Member
Thanks.
Consider this my main post with the complete list, will then probably also post monthly updates with short reviews.
#01: Steamworld Heist (iOS)
08:52:18 // 8/10
#02: Monument Valley (iOS)
~01:30:00 // 7/10
#03: Prune (iOS)
~02:00:00 // 7/10
#04: Transistor (iOS)
~05:00:00 // 6/10
#05: GTA V (PS4)
32:35:43 // 10/10
#06: Bastion (iOS)
~07:00:00 // 4/10
#07: Titanfall 2 (PS4)
~08:00:00 // 9/10
#08: Inside (PS4)
~03:30:00 // 8/10
Hustler
Member
Original Post
Game #14: Final Fantasy XV - 50.5 Hours, Completed on February 4, 2017
Platform: PS4
I put in about 35 hours before i came across a game breaking bug, I could no longer attack/run/jump. Tried rebooting a few times and calling customer service and using their "fixes". Unfortunately for me, all of my autosaves were tainted and my manual ones as well. The only way to fix the problem was to start an entirely new game.
Since my entire family was sick for nearly a month, I used a lot of the downtime to play again. Even though I had gone through so much of the game already, I still enjoyed every moment. Yes there are times when the combat and the camera are fighting each other and I wish there wasn't so much empty space on the map. However, the game oozes with personality and the banter between the main guys is entertaining. I look forward to seeing what they do with the expansions and I still have a lot left to do. i.e. clear the rest of the dungeons, level everyone up and skill levels, etc. I'll shelve it for the time being and get back to it in a few months. 9.5/10
Game #15: Knack - 12 Hours?, Completed on February 9, 2017
Platform: PS4
I'll be honest, I was waiting for this game to appear on a PS+ freebie list.....but the game popped up on the latest flash sale for $5 and I couldn't pass it up.
I don't know what to make of this game....it's visually appealing, yet the story is so far out of left field and the combat is very basic. Granted even though the combat is basic, the longer you play, the more you end up dying for silly reasons. Towards the end of the game....I really wanted the game to end, everything became monotonous.
I was expecting a simple end game boss battle, but the difficulty ramped up pretty fast. Caught me off guard and I had to readjust, but the game itself was entertaining for $5. I would have never paid $60 for this game. I'm curious to see how they improve the game with Knack 2. 6/10
Game #16: Bioshock Remastered - 10 Hours?, Completed on February 12, 2017
Platform: PS4
Technically this is a replay, I played the original game on PC when the game first released. This game had always been one of my favorites, mainly because of the atmosphere, story telling and graphics for it's day. Seriously the best water effects at that time.
Fast Forward to the remaster, the game did not disappoint. I hadn't played Bioshock in over a decade, so I was reintroduced to a lot of the story elements I had forgotten. I had it built up in my head the golf club scene was the final point in the game. The combat is still great and the game never overstayed its welcome. For reference, I saved all of the little sisters so I will need to do another play through to get the other ending. 8.5/10
Note: I am taking off some points for the Remastered version. During the later levels, the game crashed at least 3 times and I lost good chunks of progress. Advice, manually save often.
Game #14: Final Fantasy XV - 50.5 Hours, Completed on February 4, 2017
Platform: PS4
I put in about 35 hours before i came across a game breaking bug, I could no longer attack/run/jump. Tried rebooting a few times and calling customer service and using their "fixes". Unfortunately for me, all of my autosaves were tainted and my manual ones as well. The only way to fix the problem was to start an entirely new game.
Since my entire family was sick for nearly a month, I used a lot of the downtime to play again. Even though I had gone through so much of the game already, I still enjoyed every moment. Yes there are times when the combat and the camera are fighting each other and I wish there wasn't so much empty space on the map. However, the game oozes with personality and the banter between the main guys is entertaining. I look forward to seeing what they do with the expansions and I still have a lot left to do. i.e. clear the rest of the dungeons, level everyone up and skill levels, etc. I'll shelve it for the time being and get back to it in a few months. 9.5/10
I really want to know more of Prompto's background and what happened to him. Seriously...a robot designed to infiltrate the Kingdom? No wonder he felt as though he never fit in.
Game #15: Knack - 12 Hours?, Completed on February 9, 2017
Platform: PS4
I'll be honest, I was waiting for this game to appear on a PS+ freebie list.....but the game popped up on the latest flash sale for $5 and I couldn't pass it up.
I don't know what to make of this game....it's visually appealing, yet the story is so far out of left field and the combat is very basic. Granted even though the combat is basic, the longer you play, the more you end up dying for silly reasons. Towards the end of the game....I really wanted the game to end, everything became monotonous.
I was expecting a simple end game boss battle, but the difficulty ramped up pretty fast. Caught me off guard and I had to readjust, but the game itself was entertaining for $5. I would have never paid $60 for this game. I'm curious to see how they improve the game with Knack 2. 6/10
Game #16: Bioshock Remastered - 10 Hours?, Completed on February 12, 2017
Platform: PS4
Technically this is a replay, I played the original game on PC when the game first released. This game had always been one of my favorites, mainly because of the atmosphere, story telling and graphics for it's day. Seriously the best water effects at that time.
Fast Forward to the remaster, the game did not disappoint. I hadn't played Bioshock in over a decade, so I was reintroduced to a lot of the story elements I had forgotten. I had it built up in my head the golf club scene was the final point in the game. The combat is still great and the game never overstayed its welcome. For reference, I saved all of the little sisters so I will need to do another play through to get the other ending. 8.5/10
Note: I am taking off some points for the Remastered version. During the later levels, the game crashed at least 3 times and I lost good chunks of progress. Advice, manually save often.
rottendevice
Member
Master Post
12. Donkey Kong Country Returns
When I played the original Donkey Kong Country, I made it a habit to roll into my enemies. I'd press the roll button, and defeat them that way. In this game, in order to roll, you need to shake the Wiimote up and down. It's cumbersome and unresponsive. And it completely changes how I play Donkey Kong Country.
What's funny is that this is otherwise a spot on Donkey Kong Country game. It looks like Donkey Kong Country. Rolling aside, it controls like Donkey Kong Country. It sounds like Donkey Kong Country, and it plays like Donkey Kong Country. It just doesn't have that same roll.
Level design toward the beginning of the game is very good. Unlike the last 2D platformer I played (Klonoa), levels are less about puzzle solving and more about making it to the next platform safely. Unfortunately however, later levels are extremely difficult. Don't be deceived by the fact that the game can be seen as a kids game... Donkey Kong Country Returns gets hard.
There's a feature called Super Guide which basically has the game play itself if you're struggling in a level or boss fight. I'm embarrassed about the extent to which I needed to use this feature. I think having the feature in the game gave the developers an excuse to make the game as difficult as they wanted it to be, but relying on it makes you feel like you suck at video games in the end.
There's a lot of content here. I kept thinking I was going to come to the last area of the game only to have another area appear. They manage to get a lot of ideas in. Each level has a theme, as does each area of the game. The area dictates the entire theme (e.g. Jurassic world) whereas the level has a twist on the area's theme. All in all, there's a lot of variety level to level (if only they weren't so difficult).
Aesthetically, they nailed it. Thematically as well. Even the music is great. There are just two major flaws in Donkey Kong Country Returns: it doesn't have the same roll as Donkey Kong Country, and the game gets crazy hard in the second half. Even 2D platformer fans beware, this is a tough game to endorse.
2/5
12. Donkey Kong Country Returns
When I played the original Donkey Kong Country, I made it a habit to roll into my enemies. I'd press the roll button, and defeat them that way. In this game, in order to roll, you need to shake the Wiimote up and down. It's cumbersome and unresponsive. And it completely changes how I play Donkey Kong Country.
What's funny is that this is otherwise a spot on Donkey Kong Country game. It looks like Donkey Kong Country. Rolling aside, it controls like Donkey Kong Country. It sounds like Donkey Kong Country, and it plays like Donkey Kong Country. It just doesn't have that same roll.
Level design toward the beginning of the game is very good. Unlike the last 2D platformer I played (Klonoa), levels are less about puzzle solving and more about making it to the next platform safely. Unfortunately however, later levels are extremely difficult. Don't be deceived by the fact that the game can be seen as a kids game... Donkey Kong Country Returns gets hard.
There's a feature called Super Guide which basically has the game play itself if you're struggling in a level or boss fight. I'm embarrassed about the extent to which I needed to use this feature. I think having the feature in the game gave the developers an excuse to make the game as difficult as they wanted it to be, but relying on it makes you feel like you suck at video games in the end.
There's a lot of content here. I kept thinking I was going to come to the last area of the game only to have another area appear. They manage to get a lot of ideas in. Each level has a theme, as does each area of the game. The area dictates the entire theme (e.g. Jurassic world) whereas the level has a twist on the area's theme. All in all, there's a lot of variety level to level (if only they weren't so difficult).
Aesthetically, they nailed it. Thematically as well. Even the music is great. There are just two major flaws in Donkey Kong Country Returns: it doesn't have the same roll as Donkey Kong Country, and the game gets crazy hard in the second half. Even 2D platformer fans beware, this is a tough game to endorse.
2/5
- Status