Page 1 (Games 1-57)
Officially hit the post limit, so this will be my continuation.
Game 58: Alice: Madness Returns (PS3) - October 8 - 18 hours
A perfect example of a game that improves upon its predecessor in every way. I thought the original Alice was okay, but Returns is huge step up. Alice looks and animates well enough, but the real star of the game is the Wonderfully re-imagined Wonderland itself. The out of Wonderland level opening vignettes were cool, wish they could have been longer. My 16th Platinum trophy after some post-game hunting. It's a shame Spicy Horse couldn't bring us some more in the same vein.
Game 59: Styx: Master of Shadows (PS4) - October 13 - 22 hours
Underrated stealth game, and it's not hyperbole when I say it has arguably the best gameplay in the genre outside of Thief itself. Styx is a murderous bastard, so killing fits here, but combat is a death sentence outside of 1-on-1, as it should be. Hiding spaces, using the darkness and your dexterity to your advantage, it's all here. An absolute classic.
Game 60: Home (Vita) - October 16 - 4 hours
An quick adventure game with simple puzzles and an inventory, in full pixel graphics, found it worked out rather well on the Vita screen. A labour of love, even if you sniff out things early (hard not to), it's still well worth the play through. Had a bug preventing me from finishing, and had to do the entire game again. With a longer game, it would have been a sticking point, but not here.
Game 61: Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS) - October 22 - 65 hours
The turn-based TO/FFT gameplay is just about perfection for me, this is more of the same and that's ideal. Perfect handheld setup, jump in and do a fight whenever you wish. The story doesn't compare to the aforementioned classics, but it is better than FFTA and adventurous Luso is a far superior lead than the insufferable Marche. Why Square doesn't have a team cranking out a new title every 3rd year or so is beyond me.
Game 62: Painkiller: Battle out of Hell (PC) - October 23 - 5 hours
10 level expansion that I found to be of a higher quality than the base game itself. People Can Fly picked right up from the ending levels and kept the momentum going, an excellent old school shooter throughout.
Game 63: Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore (PS2) - October 27 - 2 hours
Not a fan of the series controls, but for 99 cents, why not? Beat the story mode with Tina and Bass, fiddled about a bit on other modes, and that's about it. Hard to keep going when I have SFIV installed.
Game 64: Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (Vita) - October 30 - 13 hours
A Smash Brothers clone featuring Sony characters, and I actually preferred this to the Nintendo games. Some questionable roster choices (Two versions of Cole, but nobody from Final Fantasy?!) don't really hamper things, as everybody was fun and easy to use. Beat the short campaign with everybody, my favourite was Big Daddy from Bioshock. Wouldn't mind a Vita/PS4 sequel with some different All-Stars.
Game 65: Dead Star (PS4) - November 1 - 4 hours
Excellent premise, pretty much a multiplayer space shooter with various ships, Galaga-simple controls. Was very cool for the 10 or so games I got in before the server close. Another strike against multiplayer only titles, if there was a bot mode the game would still be playable today.
Game 66: Penumbra: Requiem (PC) - November 6 - 5 hours
The final Penumbra game. The controls and puzzles were as good as ever, if not better, but the horror aspects which got me into things in the 1st place are nominal, at best. Plenty of beef for an expansion. Still quite good, but the low point of the series.
Game 67: Hannah Montana (DS) - November 8 - 4 hours
Adventure game for kids who watched the TV show. 2 of my girls qualify there, so I play through the game while they tell me what to do. It's a point and click game, solving little mysteries and roller skating around. Really poor, but I'm not exactly the target audience.
Game 68: Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (Vita) - November 17 - 30 hours
Par for the series, with good characters and controls and how easy it is to jump into a quick game. Perfect for the Vita, Hot Shots on a handheld makes it my favourite Golf game ever. Problems? It's still morale-crushingly hard, where I have to play on easy to have a smidgen of a chance on any challenge after the second tier. Still fun, though.
Game 69: X-Men Destiny (PS3) - November 19 - 19 hours
Flawed yet interesting game, part action, part RPG, with a much-appreciated yet half-hearted mutant creation system. Power creep is way too sudden, and the one-city setting is a miss, and it seems like they could have canned the three pre-made characters in lieu of a fuller, make your own one. However, Destiny is a fun romp that brought me back enough to Platinum the game. Feels like a start to greater things in a sequel, but that's not going to happen.
Game 70: Persona 3 Portable (PSP) - November 24 - 51 hours
Best version of the best Persona game. Simplified controls for the PSP lose nothing of value, social links and SMT combat is all there, and the protagonist seems far less of a Mary Sue as a woman, oddly enough. Macabre themes, yet upbeat, good cast of supporting characters, actually makes school seem fun. Instant classic, in Atlus we trust.
Game 71: Broken Age (Vita) - November 27 - 8 hours
Old school Adventure game complete with inventory puzzles and silly Tim Schafer shenanigans. Excellent voice acting really added to the experience, and the characters were all charming in their own ways. Mid-game events were very cool and turn the game on it's head in a good way. I love the remasters they are making, but new adventures in this vein are what I really want out of Schafer. Double Fine continues to deliver as the heir to Lucas Arts.
Game 72: Tekken 6 (PSP) - December 7 - 4 hours
Huge cast, same Tekken fighting gameplay, which is fine by me. Beat the story/arcade modes with King and Nina, used Armor King and Anna as well. Fought the controls a bit where I had to simplify my style, but that's probably more on me than the game itself.
Game 73: Warframe (PS4) - December 13 - 45 hours
Shockingly good. The best kind of multiplayer, where it's all Co-op and on the same side. Superior movement speed and ease of controls, possibly the best I've ever played in gaming, actual Super-Hero/Ninja levels. Looks amazing, too, shiny futuristic metals mixed with nasty, slimy creatures. Great weapon sounds, a game where it's fun to simply watch. This is Digital Extremes at their best.
Game 74: Resident Evil 5 (PS3) - December 15 - 24 hours
Another excellent RE game, the series is always a pleasure. RE4's controls are back, and the partner system really added a ton to the game and was a natural progression from the Leon/Ashley setup of its predecessor. The early RE story connections were very cool, and Chris/Sheva make for a fine duo. Would have preferred less shooting and more horror. Final verdict, I loved it, a top 5 RE game.
Game 75: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky (PC) - December 17 - 22 hours
More STALKER goodness, an absolute joy to play. Superior atmosphere and weapons, bleak setting, challenging and brutal. Dozens of memorable firefights, some were missions and others unscripted. Even the faction names are cool and to the point. The ending sequence, from Limansk onwards, is 10/10 and better than the original game. An all-time great shooter in an all-time great series.
Game 76: Lone Survivor (Vita) - December 19 - 9 hours
Best description I can come up is that LS plays like a side-scrolling Silent Hill. Freaky monsters, scrounging for food and ammo, stuff that may or may not be entirely in your head. Post-epidemic setting with not a ton of detail, leaving the mystery up to your imagination. Took me a bit to get going, but once it did I found it hard to put down. Great game for horror fans, like me.
Game 77: Dark Corridors 2 (Android) - December 21 - 2 hours
Endless runner whose only redeeming quality is cute girls in schoolgirl skirts. Played for a tad, but I'm not grinding this just for unlocks. Added an annoying pop-up without asking as well, ugh. Not a great choice for breaking my GAF-record of 76 games.
Game 78: Passing Pineview Forest (PC) - December 23 - 2 hours
Quick Steam freebee, sneaking through woods at night, literally getting from point A to B with a possibility of dying. Looked good, sounds were good, liked the dark woods walk premise enough that I will buy the original game, which this is pretty much an advertisement for.
Game 79: Sound Shapes (Vita) - December 25 - 15 hours
Hard to quantify, like a rhythym-platformer. Relaxing and fun to play campaign, but that gives way to some tricky Death Mode challenges, and then Beat School lessons my tone-deaf self could not even scratch without a walkthrough. Gets major points for music and originality. A trophy goldmine, my 20th Platinum came easy after cheesing the Beat School.
Game 80: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS) - December 28 - 16 hours
Layton never disappoints, and this is the best of the 3 games I have beaten. My December lunch breaks were all about knocking some puzzles out over food, lovely. Charming in every sense of the word, always smiling while playing, a refreshing series of puzzles amidst the family-friendly setting. Best adventure series in gaming. Lucky I'm so manly or the ending might have gotten to me. Cough.