Another few games down. Could be falling down a bit of a Left 4 Dead 2 hole, plus with Dark Souls lined up progress might slow down a little.
Game 10: Thomas Was Alone - 3.9 Hours
Really enjoyed this, never got to complicated and always stayed fun. Voice over was great and music was good. Glad I finally got round to playing this.
Game 11: Sonic CD - 9 Hours
The only 2D sonic I never really played so good to finally get it done. Not much else to say, good Sonic Game.
Game 12: Mark of the Ninja - 5.9 Hours
Solid game, one I've been meaning to play for ages but put off for one reason or another. Great art style and stealth is handled really well.
Game 13: Guacamelee! Gold Edition - 6.6 Hours
Started to well but man this just got worse as it went on. Maybe it was me losing interest but all the battles became a slog, boss fights weren't great. Such a shame as I wanted to love it so much when I was just getting started.
It was alright. Leo was a gratingly annoying piece of crap for most of the game, but I eventually grew to tolerate him. Gameplay was fun at first but got extremely repetitive, and I hardly ever had a reason to do those rescue missions.
Going to start 2nd Runner now. Hopefully the performance on the 360 version isn't significantly worse than the PS3.
Your question was directed at him but I'll answer just to give you some perspective. My first play through of Zone of the Enders was a little over 4 hours. So yes, it's a short game. The sequel is short as well (which took me 8 hours).
You can always check howlongtobeat.com to see how long a game is.
Game 1: Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent's Curse - Episode 1 (Vita) c.7 hours
A nice continuation of the story, although I feel the best could be yet to come with part 2. The interface worked well on the Vita too.
Game 2: LEGO: Legends of Chima: Laval's Journey x2 (Vita) c.12 hours
Bit of a filler game this. Standard Vita-Lego nonsense, ran through it twice in quick succession to knock off the plat.
Game 3: Rock Boshers DX (Vita, PlayStation Mobile) c.4 hours
A rather excellent little PSM game that I picked up for free as part of the recent promotion SCEE ran. Using old school spectrum style games as a base, it provides you with a series of levels to run through blasting zombies and finding food items all against the clock. This would have been a triple A hit back in the day
Game 4: Quiet, Please! (Vita, PlayStation Mobile) <1 hour
Very short, very simple adventure style game. Got it free (as above) otherwise would have been annoyed with length
Game 5: OlliOlli (Vita) c. 10 hours
Rad mode unlocked. Cracking little indie gem, 2D skateboarding score-attack goodness
Game 6: Call of Duty (PC) c. 6 hours
I always wanted to run through the single player side of one of these, and figured where better to start than, er, the start. Found a widescreen config edit that let you get a proper resolution and FOV in the single player campaign, but happy I've finally ticked this off the list
Game 7: Dragon's Crown (Vita, Wizard playthrough)
Played about 65 hours last year of this, finally got around to finishing up my final character run. Now just the last bit of grinding between other games to finish off the last few trophies, and check out the new difficulty that the last patch added.
February:
Game 8: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita) c.23.5 hours
Great visual novel with some real twisted moments, with exceptionally strong writing/translation work and a nice side game unlocked at the end. I wasn't as big a fan of some of the class trial mechanics, and I'd have preferred more voice work, but still a thumb's up overall
Game 9: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2: Smoke and Mirrors (PS3) c.2.5 hours
Was disappointed in this, if I'm honest. I think the series has so much potential, but they can't quite seem to nail it - and after such a delay, a short filler episode makes you wonder what the hell took them so long to push it out. More than any other Telltale episode I've played, this one came closest to just feeling like a pure VN
Game 10: Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita) c.35 hours
Awesome JRPG, although it manages to start slow and the 'Normal' difficulty is far too easy. I completed it initially after 24ish hours, then went back to 100% everything I could in a single run. I've since started a NG+ run on Nightmare, although with the equipment from the original playthrough I've yet to find anything too challenging. So yeah, could have done with some more tinkering to make it a little less skill spammy
Game 11: Contrast (PS4) c. 5 hours
Ever since this was announced I've been in love with the artistic style. I'm glad I waited though, as most of the launch bugs seem to have been ironed out. It's a nice little game, with interesting mechanics, but it feels rushed, and you have to wonder what the developers could have achieved with more time and money. Music was great too, although I can appreciate that it wouldn't be everyone's cuppa.
Game 12: To the Moon (PC) c. 4 hours
I've been meaning to play this for ages, but somehow never found the time. It had been suggested by so many friends I thought there would be no way it wouldn't click for me, but I found the playthrough very tough. The whole of Act 1 I felt was awful, and I found the narrative over-trite and the main characters very, very annoying. Sure, there were some moments that were nearly emotional as the story progressed, but I found myself drifting away further and further and had to force myself to keep going until the end. And the control system sucked, why no WASD movement huh?
March
Game 13: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PS3) 6 hours (this year)
Wow. Just wow. I'd started this last year, but for various reasons I'd parked it until I had a clear diary to pick it up and give it the attention it deserves. I think the only thing wrong for me was that it felt as if it started a bit slow, but once you unlocked some weapon upgrade everything started to drop into place. The number of 80s references, the colour palette, the dialogue, everything was spot on, and the campaign missions were just excellent. Probably my favourite last mission for a long time too.
Game 14: Alpha Prime (PC) c. 5 hours
Talk about stunner to stinker. I had a rare night free and decided to find something from my backlog that I'd not touched and could be completed in one sitting. A few google searches later and I dug this out of my Steam library and got on with it. And it ended up being one of the worst FPSs I've had the misfortune to play in ages. The dialogue was awfully written (or potentially just translated poorly) and the acting aimed for noir and hit dire. The gunplay itself felt weak, with stupidly strong enemies on any difficulty and poor convention bending changes (two headshots from a sniper rifle required, even on easy! Two!). If that wasn't bad enough, the odd physics puzzle just made things even worse, and the less you remind me of the 'run for the oxygen machine!' mechanic the better. Last boss was alright though.
Redux: Game 10: Ys: Memories of Celceta New Game+ (Vita) c. 10 hours
Another run through on NG+ mainly for the plat, but also because I just wanted to run through Nightmare to see how hard the bosses got. With maxed out characters/weapons/armour/good items it was a bit of a cake walk really
Game 15: TxK (Vita) c 8 hours
So, I finished all the levels on the Classic mode, and I'm counting that as the completion here. I did hit level 71 on Pure too, which was nice, but I don't think I'll really return to that or Survival to try full runs in those modes. This is an awesome, awesome game, and if you have a Vita and any kind of love for retro gaming you need to be downloading this right now. It's lovely to be able to return to past levels and suddenly be able to nail them with your newly acquired skill, especially ones that may have felt stupid difficult the first time round. TxK never really felt unfair, and for me it brings the whole tunnel shooter thing back onto the gaming map. Oh, and the soundtrack is great too - 'banging', I believe may be an appropriate term.
Game 16: The Banner Saga (PC) 11 hours
This really delivered for me on the artistic side of things, combining some great art direction with seemingly simplistic strategy gameplay that turns out to be anything but. There is a lack of shine in some places, and I think the title would have benefitted from some additional balance work in the later chapters where certain decisions can leave you with little to do apart from watching a crawling caravan for some time, but the mixture of CYOA and battles that punish stupidity had me hooked throughout.
Game 17: Resistance: Burning Skies (Vita) 10 hours
I'd wanted to try this out for quite a while now, and ended up getting it digitally in a PSN sale last year. I knew it was short, but wanted to concentrate on playing it fully rather than piecemeal, so only just got around to it. I think some of the lower (<6) review scores were very unfair to it, and while it's a very generic shooter in terms of graphics, level layout and enemy AI that feeling of a real FPS on a handheld is still great (and yes, I've played KZ:M so I know how it should have been done ;p) The weapons in particular were great, the upgrade system allowing you to put your own mark on each of them and I found the use of the touchscreen for special secondary stuff to be non-intrusive. I think the story seems to fit well within the wider Resistance world, but more really should have been done to ensure that this was the big name spectacle that everyone was hoping for
April
Game 18: The Walking Dead: Season 2: Episode 2: A House Divided (360) 2-3 hours
I'm loving this game. I really can't overstate how much I'm loving this game. Much of the jankiness seems to be gone, and the story is developing in exactly the sort of way that I want my Walking Dead to go. I won't go into any more here because it would be spoiler territory, but as an interactive experience/whatever genre we want to call it TWD is really second to none.
Game 9: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 3: A Crooked Mile (PS3) 2.5 hours
It was great to get back on track with TWAU after the pain that was episode 2. Gritty storylines, good mix of plot delivery and set up for the next two episode, and Bigby coming into his own. I'm hoping that Eps 4 and 5 can remain on track here and show that Telltale can deliver TWD style experiences elsewhere.
Game 19: Dead Nation (Vita) Around 10 hours
This one didn't click with me, but I think it was maybe more down to the Vita port. Brightness had to be chucked up to cover any kind of external lighting that hit the screen, while the smaller sprite size saw me dashing all the time on silly little things. Some mediocre game design with the zombie spawns and fully levelled guns has really turned me off returning to play through again
Game 20: Left 4 Dead (PC) Around 10 hours
I started playing this way back. Way way back, certainly 2009ish sounds about right. But even with all that time, I'd never played through all 6 (4 + 2 DLC) campaigns, so I grabbed my co-op buddies and we worked our way through all of them in a few sittings. And great fun was had by all! In some respects it was hard to return to after the improvements made in 2 (and yes, I know I could have played the original maps in 2!) but for me it still stands as a line in the sand for where co-op games should be aiming.
May
Game 21: Deadlight (360) 5ish hours
Picked this up for free from Games with Gold, although truth be told the aesthetic attracted me ever since I first saw some of the art & screenshots. As a package it promised so much, but ended up leaving so much left wanting - in a post Blood Dragon world I can just about forgive the over the top 80s stuff that got lambasted at the time, but the abrupt ending and overall repetitiveness detracted from the story experience. Amusingly I did have fun with those old style games they included though - I spent so, so many hours of my youth on those, even post GameBoy!
Game 22: Daylight (PS4) 8ish hours
This one was painfully unscary; I actually gave it a lot more time than most would, running through the game several times on different difficulty levels, but apart from one great experience in the Hospital the procedural generation never managed to produce something that could convince me that it was a good idea in this genre. A few jump-shocks at the start, especially with the musical cues, and then the rest was just me and the magic run button.
Game 23: MLB 14: The Show (Vita, counting Platinum as completion) Around 25 hours
My first baseball game! And what an entry; great presentation, fully addictive gameplay and the beginner mode matched with dynamic difficulty for both pitching and batting made this a great learning experience. I supplemented that with a lot of random baseball reading outside of the game, getting my head around the acronyms and what I should be ideally doing at various counts, but overall the game was there to hold my hand. Probably for the best that there wasn't an online multiplayer for me to get whooped in, but certainly one I'll return to throughout the year I think.
Game 24: Soul Sacrifice Delta (Vita) 25 hours
Those 25 hours cover the expanded story, a ton of co-op and some Alice farming - there is a ton of additional content left over [will expand more here]
Game 25: Ranko Tsukigime’s Longest Day (PS3) 3.5 hours
That time covers both the four animes and running through the game itself. What a nutty, nutty game - the story and supporting animation was totally nuts, and you have to imagine at times that Suda51 was cackling away at the mindwarping stuff he was putting down on paper. The actual gameplay however didn't feel like it supported the project - none of the individual bits felt as polished as they could, and I'm not actually the biggest endless runner fan I'm afraid. Worth checking out if you can find cheap and you like you Japanese craziness though.
June
Game 26: Monster Monpiece (Vita) 32 hours
Well. What can I say, really? I'd been interested in this game for quite a while - I wanted to know whether the underlying mechanics of the CCG element of the game outweighed the overtly ridiculous vita rubbing. In case you didn't know then, this is a CCG game where you can power up the cards (which are all depictions of females) by rubbing them. Powering them up also rewards you with new card art where the girls are wearing less clothes. After finishing the whole game and grinding (no pun intended) through hours of buggy to the point of crashing rubbing I can confirm this isn't a hidden gem and it's just a bit naff.
Game 27: Resogun (PS4) c. 6 hours
After getting bored of never turning on the shiny PS4 hiding behind my TV I figured I'd finally give Resogun a go. And what a fabulous little gem this is! A corking little shmup with great mechanics I found it quite hard to believe it came from the same dev team as Dead Nation after I had trouble clicking with that one. It's great for a short score attack blast and great for a long work your way through the whole game kinda session - I just need to remember to return to it at some point now that the DLC has added a ton of user ships to the mix.
Game 28: Call of Duty: United Offensive (PC) c 8 hours
So, the rule I'm using here for what counts as a 'game' is that it's an individual item accessed by itself, and not through another 'game'. So, TWD and TWAU are being counted as one game, and as this is a different Steam icon from CoD I'm counting it apart from CoD, even though it was an expansion. Anyway..... yeah, very much more of the same as original CoD, albeit with more set pieces and nicer explosions. And once again the American campaign was a bit poo - getting worried that might end up being a CoD thing...
Game 29: PlayStation Vita Pets (Vita) 14 hours
Before I started playing this I figured it would be hit or miss, with the casting vote held by my four year old and how she got on with it. As Sony continue to pump out the odd title aimed at kids they clearly think there's a chance to sell the console to a slightly younger demographic and expand their market a little. PSV Pets misses the mark however - it's too slow, too annoying to get to the activity you want to do and adds nothing you couldn't get from any other pet game elsewhere. Except maybe for dogs with voices. Notable for coming from the same devs who made the RPG Silver a million years ago.
Game 30: Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent's Curse - Episode 2 (Vita) 6-7 hours
Some excellent puzzles here which felt like a good return to form for the franchise. The split in the game, however, was a bit silly in hindsight and hurt the product in an overall sense. Certainly worth checking out if you are an adventure game fan though - especially as you are hardly drowning with choice on the Vita!
July
Game 31: Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland (Vita) 50+ hours
It was nice to finally finish the trilogy, albeit in the ever so slightly Vita out-of-order release order! Mechanically the game was fantastic, stealing the combat and crafting from Meruru Plus, but something felt missing from the main story. The regular requirements along with the underwhelming world map helped make it feel a little less epic than both Totori and Meruru, even though the writing was exceptionally strong. I missed the micro-management too! Overtime was fantastic, well worth the price of admission, but fairly easy to break it with some overpowered items
Game 32: Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (Vita) c. 10 hours
As with Chima, two full run throughs and the extra Justice League combat stuff to nab the Plat. Standard Lego stuff by now, although I'll have to check the multiplayer option out just to see if it's any cop. Nice to have received it on Plus rather than dropping money on it too.
August
Game 33: Tadeo Jones (Vita) c.10 hours
I'd wanted to play this ever since I heard about it - it all sounded so random, an Iberian exclusive, based on a popular franchise, that had a retail release AND full English. I was sure that someone would throw it up on the full European PSN at some point, but when it became clear they wouldn't I kept an eye out for it to pop up cheapish. On the one hand I'm kinda happy I ticked it off the sheet, but on the other it's an awful game. Very repetitive simple gameplay, full of jaggy edges and frame stutter. It's just a cheap cash in - they didn't even bother throwing a plat at the game. It's almost a perfect import, apart from being spectacularly crap.
Game 34: Proteus (Vita) c. 4 hours
Wow, thanks PS+. I'm firmly in the camp that this was awful awful instead of arty good. I gave it more than it's fair share of time, exploring everything, trying to get into the mood, and it just didn't click. It feels like half a game, a tech demo of an engine to get funding to go away and make the game. I'm not sure whether the story on Wikipedia is accurate, but it sure feels like it makes sense.
Game 35: LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids (Vita) 15 hours
Notable for being the first Lego title on the Vita without appalling FMV and sound quality, Nindroids brings some good changes to the table - smaller bite sized missions, objective based replayability, some vehicle bits to break up the gameplay. But then it breaks stuff that used to work fine, and feels a bit rushed - could have been more than a TV show cash-in with just a little more work, methinks
Game 9: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 4: In Sheep's Clothing & The Wolf Among Us: Episode 5: Cry Wolf (PS3) c.5 hours
Well, what a fantastic finish. I've liked TWAU a little more than the critical scores I've seen, and the series really delivered on that through Episodes 4 and 5. I'll not mention specific story points here, but if you do give it a go and find the early episodes slow then please stick with it, the narrative payoff is all worthwhile.
Game 36: Hohokum (Vita) c.6 hours
It's fun, it's arty, it's relaxing and it has objectives, which is always nice. But it doesn't quite manage to merge being 'arty' and 'a good game', and the elements of each aren't always complimentary. Worth checking out if you're after something different, however.
Game 37: Metrico (Vita) c.7 hours
As someone who managed to grow up and land a job in an office (yey me!) anything that tries to make stats fun has got a headstart with how I'll view it. Metrico's a nice platformer, something different at least that had my attention until the final level, where the use of light and individual colours enraged me more than either Uncharted or AC:L did. A shame that annoying functionality use keeps popping up, really.
September
Game 38: Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Vita) c.50 hours
What a great experience - improves over the original in many areas, although some of the newer trial functionality doesn't always work as well as the developers perhaps hoped. I'll hold off from commenting too much on the story or additional specifics as the game is so narrative based, but certainly I'd recommend both the first game and this one to any Vita owners out there
Game 39: Murasaki Baby (Vita) c. 2 hours
From the off, style-wise this has looked great. The final product didn't disappoint, and the art direction really is top notch - I guess I'm a sucker for anything in black and white! The touch controls were ok, although you had to play some finger olympics in certain areas. My main concerns with the game were that it was short, and that it finished just as it tied all the mechanics together and finally got going. Due to the length and lack of replayability might be worth waiting for a sale on this one...
Game 40: Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break (GameBoy) 1.5 hours
Got bored on a trip home so went through a load of old stuff and dug out a couple of old GameBoys that used to belong to my brother and I, along with a load of old games. I remembered this one quite well - far more accessible to us in our youth than the overly difficult sequel was anyway! It's a nice little platformer, some boss difficulty spikes, with some interesting options for its day - you can flip between anyone of three characters at any time, for instance, and each one of them has their own special move. But you get more score if you don't use your special move items, etc. Fairly easy to play through as an adult, build up some additional lives through the mini-games and then got tanked by the final boss until I learnt the movement entirely. Guess I'll look through the pile and figure out which one I'll tackle next
Game 41: PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale (Vita) c.15 hours
Played through Arcade mode for every original character, and two of the DLC ones that it looks like I picked up free at some point, as well as nabbing all bar two of the trophies. I don't play a huge number of fighters or brawlers, but I enjoyed my time with this one - especially with it being free from Plus. I didn't have a huge issue with the whole Supers thing either - although I thought there were balance issues between the characters, and the online tactic of most to wait until Super level 3 before doing anything seemed a bit boring.
Game 42: Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon (PC) c.3 hours
A weird one to put down, I know! But this has the honour of being the first game I've ever completed while playing alongside my four and a half year old. She was fantastic, and in the same of no time at all got the hang of the mouse, some keys and how to use this weird non-touch monitor (bless the tablet generation!). We've moved onto another Putt-Putt game now, but to be honest she's blazing away at that on her own with me just kinda spectating with the odd 'Yey!', so I don't know if I'll count that as one of my own when we finish it. Anyway, great stuff - so happy I got them cheap in a Humble Bundle, and anyone with young kids should nab them.
Game 43: Hotline Miami (Vita) c.10 hours
This has become one of those games where, after playing it, I have no idea why it took me so long to get around to booting it up. I was hooked from start to platinum, it really is an excellently designed and very accessible title. Loved the failures, loved fighting for massive combos. Some weaknesses I hope are picked up and fixed in the sequel, but honestly you'll never notice them while you are actually playing. If you've also failed to play this until now go away and rectify that - ideally on a Vita, as it was such a perfect fit for the machine.
Game 8: Balloon Kid -1 Hour 20 Minutes
A sequel to Balloon Fight that I really didn't know that existed but it is a pretty good game made from well very little the NES game had. The last 3 levels aren't very good and go from nice fun air platformer to cheap BS.
Completion #01 : Game #01 : PixelJunk Shooter 2 (PS3 | ~10hrs | Trophies - 90%)
This was returning to a game that I left about halfway through, went back to finish off the story and find all the lost adventurers and hidden diamonds, final levels were quite long and challenging. Game controls well and the varied elements within the game keep the game fresh, it really is a tough game. Only missing the online trophies.
Completion #02 : Game #02 : Contrast (PS4 | ~4hrs | Trophies - 100%)
Game is really rough around the edges, the character you control really seems to skate around at times, though it is worse when you are trying to get the platforming down in the the shadow state. Overall the game is simple enough, with nothing really too taxing on the brain, though there were a few solutions that were trial and error and another time I broke the game and had to reload, it allowed me to do something that I should have been able to do.
I did like the trippy nature of the setting, certainly didn't expect a floating city or whatever it was (even though there is a beach also, lol). It wasn't the best time I've had, but I've played worse. If a sequel is made, they need to overhaul everything, the controls, story needs to move along abit faster, need more things to do, remove some of the hand holding and just overall needs to be bigger.
Completion #03 : Game #04 : WRC 3 (Vita | ~12hrs | Trophies - 100%)
Purchased in the EU sale for about $5 about a month ago, as far as rally games go it does that aspect well and game is tough as nails if you put up the damage and AI to max. Whilst I haven't played alot of rally games, I remember having so much fun with the original 2 Colin McRae games. From my hazy recollection of those games, they put alot of effort into making the tracks/stages feel unique and very individual. This is something that WRC3 doesn't do, as the tracks/stages are only different via small variations of segments, with the bulk of the tracks all sharing segments, you just get to drive them forward and backwards.
The game suffers from some framedrops, mainly throwing the car around hairpins and the camera has trouble keeping up, plus depending on the difficult settings, the cars can feel like they are glued to completely fishtailing, though this might be a limitation not completely tailored to the Vita controls. Overall, the framework for a decent rally game is there, the game certainly needs to get some polish, but more effort in track variation is required to keep the interest levels up, love for the stages to have alternate longer versions for repeat plays.
Games 3 & 4 completed, so I'm just about sticking to target of 1 game per week.
Game 3 was Uncharted 2. I completed it in around 13.5 hours on Normal difficulty and collected around 40 or so artifacts along the way. Really great game with fantastic art and characters.
Game 4 was Fun!Fun! Minigolf Touch, which I picked up on a whim as it was on sale on the e-shop. To be honest, I didn't really get into this game much. I know there's only so much you can do with a minigolf game but still, it felt like a mobile/tablet game to me and doesn't have much depth or replay value. Still, had a little fun with it and it helped a Eurostar journey go by quicker so not all bad....
Current plan is that Games 5, 6 and 7 will be Heavy Rain on PS3 and Nintendoland and Rayman Legends on Wii U.
Week 5: This week was mostly taken up by Valkyria Chronicles 3, which by some accounts is going to take quite a bit longer. I'm in chapter 5 now, and have just finished all the squad member fragments available to me so far. I think I've got at least ten more chapters to go, though, and something like 45 hours left.
In terms of games I've finished: The Cave was a fun but flawed adventure game. The forced repetition to see all the characters' puzzles, though, is not really something I have a lot of patience for, and the humour was almost never laugh-out-loud funny (and more often grating than anything--I'm looking at you, Greatest Employee of All Time).
I'm not sure if this one should count yet, since I'm considering going back and burning through the other endings real quick, but I did see the credits (five times!) for Hatoful Boyfriend as well. It's an otome dating sim (i.e. for girls who want to date guys, which I'm totally not) set in a high school (of course) where all your potential suitors are pigeons (of... course?). Oh, and also you live in a barren cave. Somehow, out of all this, there are compelling stories to be told. It's actually surprising how quickly I forgot that I was talking to pigeons, and while the characters aren't exactly rich with backstory, there's enough to keep you interested while you're busy trying to court the bird of your choice.
What's next? More Valkyria Chronicles 3, of course. Bravely Default comes out this week, though I'm not yet sure if I want to start that yet. I'm still playing bits and pieces of Lego City Undercover (though that game really doesn't make it easy--I clocked one of the loading screens at a full minute!) but I might find one more short-ish game to cram into next week.
In total, I've finished 13 out of 52 games so far, which is exactly one quarter of the way to the goal. Neat!
Game 5: Killzone Shadow Fall - This game had the shittiest story I've played in quite some time. Characters meant nothing, gameplay sucked (poor enemy ai/throwing you into terrible situations over and over again), and the story made no sense. Multiplayer's pretty coo though >_>
Game 1: Persona 3 FES: The Journey - 136 hours - Completed 2/5/14
Beat The Journey today and loved the ending. I really like how it wrapped up. I still have to then play the companion game The Answer to get the rest of the story, which shouldn't take that long. I'll probably come back to that later, as I need a break from overly long games.
Not Ninja Theory's best work (haven't played Heavenly Sword yet; DmC was better), but definitely not a waste of time. Graphics are quite nice given the hardware constraints, despite that atrocious framerate. Combat was dull, although there was less of it than I expected.
(Bonus points if you're familiar with the source material.)
Game 9: Resident Evil: Outbreak (PS2) - 3 hrs 28 mins (i got the times for both Outbreak games from the ingame stats menu but they seem a bit short)
I really liked this one outside of some issues (usually related to the AI). The scenarios were perfect in length and I enjoyed each one. There was a nice challenge between inventory management and trying to keep yourself/the AI partners alive as well.
Game 10: Resident Evil: Outbreak File 2 (PS2) - 2 hrs 57 mins
More of the same from the first. The ability to tell your AI partners to use items was appreciated. The final scenario was a bit long for my liking (especially with the multiple bosses and other dangerous things near the end) and the subway scenario is by far the lowest point of any RE title I've played.
Game 11: Dark Cloud (PS2) - 33 hrs 28 mins
Still a fantastic game to this day. The georama/town building aspect is by far my favorite part. I wish more games had things like that. Even without all of the improvements I've preferred this one to the sequel for some reason. There's an atmosphere that I haven't experienced in any other game, that's hard to explain.
Game 12: Disaster Report (PS2) - 4 hrs 44 mins
Finally completed this one on this attempt. Still enjoy this a lot. Too bad we haven't seen any similar titles.
Game 5: Brothers - a Tale of Two Sons - 5.1 hours played (Steam counter)
All achievements unlocked (05/02/2014). One of the most beautiful and smartest game I have ever played, what an ending. 8/10
Game 6: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - 21 hours played (Steam counter)
All achievements unlocked (11/02/2014). Finished for the first time last year, I played it on True West difficulty and completed all other modes. An excellent, very fun, and particularly underestimated, FPS, probably the best released in 2013.
Game 7: Trine 2 - Complete Story - 37 hours played (Steam counter)
All achievements unlocked (14/02/2014).
Game 8: Limbo - 6.6 hours played (Steam counter)
All achievements unlocked (24/02/2014).
It was a charming game that did an amazing job demonstrating all the different things the Vita can do. All that being said it wasn't my type of game. I finished it because I knew it was going to be relatively short and it got some much praise from VitaGAF.
6/10 from me. I can see why it is a great game and it looked and played beautifully, it just wasn't for me.
Game 10: Zone of the Enders the 2nd Runner - 11 hours (plus however long it took me to beat that goddamned Vic Viper)
So I definitely see why people are all over this one. The combat is a lot more fluid, chaotic, and fun, Dingo isn't an annoying loser like Leo was in the first game, and there's a greater variety of missions that keep thing fresh. The story is actually pretty interesting and the game's aesthetic is really something.
Having said that;
This is legitimately one of the most atrocious English dubs I have ever heard, and the dialogue is so awkward it makes Metal Gear Solid look like the Godfather. It's a real shame because there's some really cool stuff in here, like the nature of Anubis and Jehuty, the Metatron, and the political situation between Earth and Mars.
I ran into a lot of lag and awkward light effects, but I'm assuming that's because I was playing the 360.
All in all it was a way better game than the first.
Game 1: The House of the Dead- 1 hour 30 minutes
Not as good as the sequel but it's fun.
Game 2: The House of the Dead: Overkill- 3 hours
It's harder at the start when you only have the stock handgun. Fun though, the story's mental.
Game 3: Inazuma Eleven 2: Firestorm- 33 hour 7 minutes
Gameplay was great, recruiting players was fun, the final chapter did not need to exist and really dragged things out.
Game 4: Spelunky- 15 hours
Still doing the daily challenges. I need more people to compete against though.
Game 5: Final Fantasy: All the Bravest- 2 hours 30 minutes
Well, I can't say it was good but it was short and free. Nice sprites to.
Game 6: Tokyo Jungle- 15 hours
Very fun but a bit limited gameplay wise.
Game 12 - Deadpool - 7 hours
It was alright I guess. Feels like the running gag about using up the game's budget was what happened in real life. Nothing was great, or even good, just serviceable.
Game 13 - Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System - 51 hours
My first of probably many long games of the year. I'm not sure what to make of this game since it was the only post 16-bit era Final Fantasy game I didn't play. This game felt more next-gen than Final Fantasy XIII. It also felt like a lot of little things were lacking, probably since I hear they ended up rushing things. Also don't know why Vaan was even in the game let alone be considered the main character.
GAME 2: Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition / PlayStation 4 /
Single Player
- Normal
- 12 Hours
- 100% Completion
I had already played through Tomb Raider when it first came out. I enjoyed it at the time but didn't love it, I just couldn't get enough of it this time around. Played it solidly for the past two days and just loved it.
Lately I got to thinking I dunno about this challenge. I only own 264 games, many I can't play due to lack of having their systems anymore, many I simply have not an cannot beat, and some that just aren't replayable. So 52 games is a tall order but I'ma keep on plugging away!
Anyhows Brain Age: Concentration Training was beaten today! As in unlocking the last exercise, brain news, and credits. Seeing all this kinda made me sad it had finally come to an end but there's still high scores ta be had an whatnot so I'ma keep coming back to it for more!
Games Beaten: 7 / 52 Total Playtime: 64 hours, 10 minutes
Game 5: Killzone: Shadow Fall - Completed 2/6/14
Finished up the campaign. Ok on the story, but the visuals were spectacular. I didn't really feel the big build up this time around like I did in KZ2, though some of the later levels were more grandiose. I think I liked the last level the best and wish we had a game based around that concept.
Also, unsure of hours on it since I can't seem to find any indication of that in the game or on the system.
Haven't played a game in the series since Red/Blue. Game was just too easy, I never even remembered or learned half the abilities on my pokemon because you could just 1 or 2 shot every pokemon you encountered. Also my desire to catch them all was just so abysmal, just never felt the need to or attachedment. Oh well I guess I'm happy I got to see the series , but pokemon just isn't for me I guess.
Game #5: Portal - 2 hours
It just felt like a tutorial to me. I know it originally was just a little side game for the Orange Box, but after Portal 2 and hearing a lot about it in the internet I was really underwhelmed. 5/10
Game 11: Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - 7 hours
Decided to go through one more quick run-n'-gun before Bravely Default came out, and wow, I did not expect to like this one as much as I did. It's very evocative of the original PS2 trilogy which I liked since I thought ToD and CiT distanced themselves too much from it. Vendra was a great villain and the art was beautiful. It'd probably be my favourite of the bunch if it weren't so short.
Unfortunately, my movie watching challenge has sort of taken a back seat. I started a job and am taking some pretty tough 4000 level classes this semester.
Just wanna ask before adding it to my list, I just played Wolf Among Us Episode 2, would that count as a game, or is it dlc, or would I need to beat all 5 episodes before it would count?
Your question was directed at him but I'll answer just to give you some perspective. My first play through of Zone of the Enders was a little over 4 hours. So yes, it's a short game. The sequel is short as well (which took me 8 hours).
You can always check howlongtobeat.com to see how long a game is.
Yeah, the games are pretty short. My replays of ZOE2 took as little as 3-4 hours, although 6-8 is more reasonable for the first playthrough.
People who don't have much time to commit could always go straight to ZOE2, it doesn't rely much on the first game, but they're both pretty easy to get through quickly.
Game 3: Shadow Warrior (pc) - Completed Feb 7th - 12 hours
Good, fast paced game with fun hack n' slash action. It sure is long though! Recommended.
Game 4: Rayman Legends (pc) - Completed Feb 8th - 10 hours
Just a gorgeous game. A real pleasure to play! Not sure if I'll get all 700 lums (I have around 500 of them) but I'll go back to it in the future.
Revengeance beaten! I have no skill but I must still beat the game! How casual am I? Soooo casual. Super cool game all the same. An now I exactly know which two games ta follow it up with!
Games Beaten: 8 / 52 Total Playtime: 70 hours, 38 minutes
Games 1-25 (Hit the character limit for the post.)
Game 26 (Feb. 7, 2014): The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (360) - ~4 hours
Like Closure, another platforming puzzle game with an interesting mechanic. In this case, recording clones of your actions and interacting with them to gather all the yummy, tasty pies! The wrapping story was enjoyably played out with the rhyming verse between levels, which helped keep the light-hearted nature of this game going. Didn't find much interest in the couple of challenges tried, but others may be able to spend a long time there, since there are plenty of challenges to shoot for.
Half way there! Woo-hoo!
Game 27 (Feb. 8, 2014): Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64, inside of Kirby's 20th Anniversary Collection) - ~6 hours
Much easier game than the Dream Lands, and a welcome respite! There was a bit of stuff in there that you wouldn't "get" if you hadn't played the previous SNES game, though. Thinking specifically of the ability that turns you into rock statues of the animal buddies from Dream Land 3, including a shard you can only get by remembering a special ability of one of those animal buddies that is applicable in the rock statue form. Sheesh! Nice to see a blocky Kirby instead of the 2-D version, though. Also feel much more familiar with the Kirby staple elements having finished the Anniversary Collection now. Worth playing through to get the history. Actually makes me want to play Kirby Triple Deluxe when it comes out, then! :lol Of the Anniversary Collection, still sticking with Dream Land 2 being the best of the ones I played, though. (Played Super Star on Wii VC; Dream Land 2 would still be better, though.)
Keep saying this, but trying to get to 52 games (and more) is really making me get down to the grindstone to churn out these games, and it's making for a lot of fun so far this year!
Game 28 (Feb. 10, 2014): Mega Man 4 (NES, 3DS VC) - 4:53
Finished the last Mega Man in my queue. Standard Mega Man fare. Mega Man 3 would still be better but a nice game nonetheless. As oft-repeated, save state ability with these games is a must! Don't feel that I "know" the series like Kirby from above, as it's sort of a boilerplater series, but still glad I got to play these old "classics" in a relatively frustration-free environment.
Game 29 (Feb. 13, 2014): Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii DLC) - ~15 hours
This is not New Super Mario Bros. Wii. This is a free fan-made add-on, lovingly crafted (it shows, and they have a soft spot for SMB3, which I adore), with a full game that runs off the NSMBWii disc with new levels and assets I don't recall seeing in the original game. Finished everything in this game and unlocked
Hard Mode. Not interested in that, though.
All the 128 levels, all the 384 Star Coins, all the exits. I would've believed this was an official NSMB2 for Wii, if I didn't know better. Can't recommend this highly enough to fans of Mario platforming! Love that this game completion thing got me around to beating it after downloading it and playing a couple of levels last year. It was great!
Onward, ho! :lol
Game x: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS) - 4:50 (not complete, but think I'm done with it)
This game is a disgrace for a Nintendo platformer. It's a masochistic platformer with extremely problematic controls. Now, there's certainly a group of gamer who would prize such games, but I am most definitely not in that group. Masochistic gameplay has no place in a Nintendo game, and precision controls is supposed to be a hallmark of Nintendo platformers. I'd imagine that the Wii version would be somewhat better in controls, as it doesn't map the roll to the same button as the ground slap. There were more than a few times that I rolled off a cliff while trying to do a ground slap because of that issue. That's not terrible, though, as you just have to remember to come to a complete stop before attempting a ground slap to fit within the game's programming's delineations of ground slap vs. roll. However, the rocket barrel should've never been allowed in the game, as-is. You do not directly control the rocket barrel.. The level scrolls automatically, and you have to tap-tap-tap the rocket engine button to cause it to go up and down on the screen in a very loose manor. There is no precision when flying that thing, which was tolerable as the levels using weren't too bad to just get through (and never look back) early on. However, there was a section that I spent over 20 lives clearing the final checkpointed section of one level in the Cave area. It involved running from a giant purple mole that took up the left quarter of the screen and shot large purple expanding flames at you. The game already takes most of the screen away from you in this section, and then combine the expanding purple flame from the mole that follows your motions up and down with the nearly completely unusable "controls" for the rocket barrel, and it's a recipe for disaster. There are items in the game to help with this, but you have to use the items before the level begins, which means if you hit a wall 4/5ths of the way through a level, you're in deep crap without restarting the level. Broken gameplay, broken level design (due to lack of more checkpoints and inability to use items at existing checkpoints), and broken controls. This game is a travesty, and this is coming from someone who got all 10x% completions in the original DKC1,2,3, and DK64. I'm not afraid of a challenge, but torture is not a friend of mine. Games should be fun, not frustratingly bad designs that you have to be a masochist to want to collect everything in. The option of a Super Guide does not excuse this level of torture, either. Just terrible.
I'm glad I found this out before considering Tropical Freeze. Dodged a bullet there. This really hurts my opinion of Retro Studios now, too. Love Metroid Prime, MP2 was very plodding for the first 20 hours (until you got the Screw Attack), and MP3 was nice. DKC is the team that's there now, though, and it's just bad. Very dissappointed with how this game has turned out.
Game 30 (Feb. 16, 2014): Little Inferno (PC) - 4:38
Fun playbox. There's some semblance of a story (less of one than in World of Goo, for comparison), but the real meat of the game is in burning stuff and figuring out the 99 possible combos. And that's very fun.
Game 31 (Feb. 17, 2014): Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PC) - ~15 hours
This is the first time I've ever played a pre-2013 Tomb Raider. When describing Tomb Raider 2013, I called it an Assassin's Creed-lite. Having now played the remake of the original Tomb Raider, I now know AC is Tomb Raider with lots of killing and free-running. Great game. The Devs talked about wanting to "protect" Lara in Tomb Raider 2013, but she killed everyone, so there wasn't much protection needed. I really did feel like I wanted to protect this Lara, though. Maybe it's because she wasn't out to find someone in her way to kill (except those animals/creatures that would show up at points), and just wanted to explore to get through all the ruins. Really puts an ! on environmental puzzles. This required a lot of planning to get right! Also in contrast to the bad checkpoint design and loose controls of DKCR3D, there were plenty of checkpoints in this game (very nice to keep you from having to constantly redo sections) and the controls were tight and responsive! Such a joy to play this game. Love exploration games. Love tight controls. Graphics were very clear and nice. Such a refreshingly wonderful experience! Finished the mansion (not all the relics), too.
Really looking forward to the other two Lara's in this trilogy (Legend and Underworld) down the road now!
Game 32 (Feb. 21, 2014): Resident Evil 5 (360) - ~17 hours
Played it through and then started a New Game+ for a few levels to unlock one of the unlimited ammos to try it out. First, this game absolutely could've been ported to the Wii. It would've had to be downgraded some and would've take a lot of work, but it could've looked as good as RE4, been completely playable, and been not that far off (in my opinion) from the 360 version. I do mean a lot of work. They'd have had to pretty much recode it from scratch to make use of all the stuff RE4 spent years putting into play. Makes me wonder if it would've happened if Mikami's studio would've still been at Capcom and making the game, though. Anyway, game is almost as fun as RE4 at times. Like the co-op mechanic, when it's not a real person doing the co-op. Only had a couple of frustrating parts with Sheva. RE4 definitely takes the cake with post-game content, though. RE4 actually got funner the more times you played through it. The ultimate being Knight Ashley. Shoot her with a rocket? That's fine. Plop her as bait into a bunch of enemies to draw them in and shoot her with a rocket to kill them all? That's fine. Leave her in the middle of the road to let a truck run over her, and the truck die? That's fine. :lol On the flipside, RE5 was not fun to play through again. Thought it might've been with infinite ammo but they throw on the asinine requirement of using points earned from the levels in addition to spending tons of your money to completely maxing out the gun first. One or the other guys. Requiring both sucks fun away. Add in no Knight suit, and RE5 just gets close to RE4 the first play-through and then falls off quickly thereafter. Still a good game, though. Wesker keep coming back is like Bowser keeping coming back in Mario. You're sure you killed him in the last game, maybe even saw his broken boney remains, but somehow he's still back. Oh, well! :lol
Not planning on getting RE6, though.
Game * (Feb. 23, 2014): Costume Quest: Grubbins on Ice DLC (360) - ~3 hours
Very fun. Extension of the Costume Quest game with new costumes and further exploration, and since the original game was great, the DLC obviously follows that. Still kept mostly with the costumes for attacks from the original game, though.
Finished Costume Quest over a year ago and don't consider this enough of an add-on to be its own numbered game in this tracking. Did want to mark that it was something else off my To-Do list, though.
Game 33 (Feb. 23, 2014): Adventures of Shuggy (360) - ~5-6 hours
Another puzzle platformer. Didn't realize I had so many in my queue. This one has some really neat level design mixed with some mechanics seen in several other games + a rope mechanic that's new. Personally, I didn't like the floaty jumping. Prefer precision jumping better. Made it difficult to make a few of the jumps, but only a very minor amount of the 116 single-player levels completed. Just kept thinking how much this game would've been perfect for Nintendo to license, fix the jumping, add in Mario (basically same game, just with Mario), and it would've sold a ton. Much better puzzle-platformer for Mario to use than the Mini-March sub-series. That should give some idea of the funness of the levels, though, some could've used a bit of tweaking to make them more user-friendly. Good, quick game, and the 116 levels didn't overstay their welcome.
Game 34 (Feb. 24, 2014): Mario Tennis Open (3DS) - 5:27
This is a great, fun, and not too frustrating game to play until the last Tournament. Then it takes up the mantra of frustrating me to no end that started with Mario Tennis 64's final tournament. It was good in the end, but that abrupt jump in opponent capability in that final tournament was a bit rough. Ugh. Solid Camelot sports effort, though. Playing the modified Super Mario Bros. levels against the wall was fun, though, they should've given you a bit more leeway in order to actually complete the levels easier to see more of them. Realized at the end this had a Miiverse community you could post screenshots to. That's always a nice meta-game to the main game, but I'm not going back to take a bunch of pictures now.
Looking forward to Mario Golf from Camelot coming up, but hope it doesn't have such an abrupt difficulty change, too. At least there, you're just competing against yourself instead of having to deal with an opponent that suddenly can do things no previous opponents could.
Game 35 (Feb. 26, 2014): Star Tropics II: Zoda's Revenge (NES) - ~5 hours
Started without the Game Genie, saw it was going to be just as frustrating as Star Tropics I, and finished the rest of the game with the Game Genie. Made for a much more enjoyable experience. Not as much overworld exploration this time around, I think. Much more focused on throwing tons of dungeons at you. Guess as a late, late, late gen NES game, they really wanted you to be playing this game for a while. Traveling through time was fun, and the
Merlin tie-up after getting all the tetrads
was neat. Do miss the "anything's possible under the Southern Cross" schtick from the first game, though. This seemed more like a large dungeon DLC pack then a real sequel. If they made it more accessible instead of brutal, I'd be up for a new game in the series on current-gen, I think. Was also weird to see the final Executive Producer be Minoru Arakawa instead of Hiroshi Yamauchi. Guess that's due to it being an NST game and not developed in Japan.
Crystalis is my last planned NES game to play for this 52-game goal. I've played it several times before but just love the game. Popped it in after Star Tropics II just to start the game, and I really had to fight to not sit down and play it for several more hours. Gotta hold out and play some other games before diving back into those fun, fun waters! :lol
Game 36 (Feb. 28, 2014): Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy (PC) - ~7 hours
Only finished Hero 30, but I'm going to consider that done "enough." It's a mostly complete story-line, but I am not going to grind for 30+ more hours in a not-so-fun gameplay game (story's funny, but after ~40 (would play both paths at most of the story splits) grind-heavy "evil lords" levels, I'm not going through it all 100+ more times). That said, this seems like a cell phone game, as it reminds me of the continual grinding required by Zenonia, which was a cell phone port on DSiWare. I did play that all the way through that game but not again. As said, completing Hero 30 mode is done "enough." :lol
Game 37 (Mar. 2, 2014): Grabbed by the Ghoulies (Xbox via 360) - ~7 hours
Love that this was so obviously made by the Banjo team. The pictures, RARE logos everywhere, that part was great. The game itself is clearly a rush job, though. It's essentially ~100 separate trial rooms with different clear requirements with a story strung together for some coherence and a surprising lite amount of collectables (just the RARE blue books with one in each level to find). Looked it up and it came out ~ a year after the Microsoft acquisition, so that was probably why. Would've been interesting to see how it would've gone if they put more time into it. It clearly laid groundwork for a second game, but no second game seems to be coming after 11 years and the team being disbanded. :lol
As always, Nintendo and RARE would've both been in immensely better positions today had the Stampers wanted to leave things at the status quo with RARE being second party to Nintendo. Guess they had to do what they felt was right for them, but it's just a travesty how perfect RARE and Nintendo were together and how incomplete they both have been since.
Game 38 (Mar. 3, 2014): Nights into Dreams... (360) - 3-4 hours
Hadn't played this before and only had a vague idea of what it was about. As such, had no clue what was going on when starting the first level (playing with Classic Saturn style). Kind of strange that they couldn't even put a brief introductory text screen to explain what's going on. Had to go to the manual to find out what was happening. Think this was the game that was rushed to market to show that SEGA had an analog stick, too, before the N64's release, and if so, it really shows. There's a foundation for a good score attack game here, but if it was a classic in its time, it hasn't aged well. It's not bad, but it just feels incomplete. Some more explained story, few more levels, some mini-games thrown in to use the few different types of gameplay here (thinking of the brief tobogganing section specifically). Could've been a much improved game, I think. Played Christmas Nights, too, and that was cool. All the mainstays of the regular game replaced with Christmas themed stuff was enjoyable, and it had an intro movie explaining what the story was. :lol
Getting close to finishing off the 360 backlog. Wow.
Game 39 (Mar. 5, 2014): Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS) - 12:48
Okay, went back and finished this travesty of a game. See my previous post, as that's all still valid. I ended up saving myself useless frustration and only played the remaining rocket/minecart levels long enough to activate Super Guide. Did finish the rest of the levels past the Cave (and the bonus 9th world, which was actually a ton better than the rest of the game frustration-wise!) on my own, though. The Rocket barrel is still the worst gameplay element I can recall in recent memory. Loose, indirect control in tight areas with one-hit deaths. Terrible design choices there, except for those who just really love these types of frustratingly-hard, trial-and-error-until-you-memorize-the-entire-level types of games. It seems like Retro purposefully designed the game to not let you get into any sort of fun rhythm for long before killing you again. As said before, the items are mostly broken, as you can't add them mid-level, so if you find out you need something 4/5ths through the level, you have to quit the whole thing, pick the item, and then make it back to that spot again. Just very poorly though out. The extra hearts aren't like this, so that part's good, but the other items are nigh on useless for making the levels more "approachable" for the average player. All that said, the 9th world was a bastion of much betterness. I'm guessing that those that liked the first 8 levels found the 9th world super easy, but for me, it was just right. Seemed like there were more checkpoints, hearts appeared more often, and there weren't just cruel placement of obstacles and enemies like there was in the main game. The 9th world was probably done by Monster Games, so it makes sense that the EXCITEtruck/bots developers would put fun over technical skill in their world. Yes, they would've also been the ones to flub the items, but if the main game was programmed like world 9, the items would've much much less necessary, anyways! :lol
That leaves only one physical 3DS game in my backlog now! :lol Still waiting on a sale for one and Yoshi's Island is coming out soon. Still, that's a huge milestone for me! Yeah! Loving what this 52-game challenge is doing to my backlog! Woo-hoo!!!!
Game 40 (Mar. 9, 2014): Alan Wake + Special Ep. 1/2 DLC (PC) - ~17 hours
Grand Theft Auto: Alan Wake edition. Seriously. He stole like tons of cars in this game. Also, "My wife is captured and in mortal danger, I'm being chased by The Darkness right back there, but let's go the opposite way I'm supposed to try to find a random Coffee thermos in a port-o-potty!" What?!? LOL! Like exploration in games, and collectibles reward exploration in games, but recognizing you're spending a fair amount of time searching random areas for a coffee thermos while your wife's being held hostage is just pure gaming insanity. Game itself is a novel. If you like the story (horror/survival story), then you'll probably like the game. The gameplay doesn't much progress beyond what is seen in the first episode. It gets a little monotonous (lose all items, trek through woods avoiding baddies until can get back flashlight and gun, then work your way through he rest of the forest/town/bridge/etc. Get to new section and rinse-repeat). It wasn't annoying, though. Just not engaging. Good length, and neat story.
On the DLC, that was good. Threw the areas you thought you knew into a loop and had you work your way through. The final bosses at the cabin were hilarious, too.
Finally figured out that American Nightmare is a standalone game, so instead of including the time of the DLC with it (which I now know wouldn't make sense), will just treat it as a separate game, since it is! :lol
Game 41 (Mar. 12, 2014): Alan Wake American Nightmare (PC) - 5:45
Majora's Mask playstyle. :lol Got all the manuscript pages, too. Enjoyed this format more than the main game, for sure. LIked the greater variety of enemies, unlockable weapon upgrades (instead of losing your weapons a couple of times an episode like in the main game), and the story was hilarious with the characters in each section remembering more and more as
you repeat time
. Lovely ironic touch with how the final boss is defeated, as well. This was a good game, and well worth the purchase, if you've already trudged through the main Alan Wake game. This is much better and makes me look forward to the eventual Alan Wake 2.
Game 42 (Mar. 13, 2014): The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (GBC, 3DS VC) - 14:05
Yes, I know LADX doesn't normally take that long, but I wandered around a lot and didn't use a guide until after much trying everything else. It was good to be back in that mindset to try to figure out a game, even if it is one I've played a multiple times before. Had only played the DX version once before, I think. Have the original GB version, and prefer it's glitched warp trick to the new dungeon in DX, which is why hadn't played the DX version more. Good game. Oracle of Ages/Seasons together is still better. Surprised by how much extra Mario (and deformed Kirby) stuff was in this game than I had recalled. Nice touches. Need more of that unexpected crossover in Nintendo games, I think. Throw in a Master Sword in Mario and return of Goombas in Zelda!
Finally bought some more 3DS download games from my list. Said that I wouldn't be buying any games on my list unless they went on sale, because my backlog was so large. Well, the backlog be-a-shrinking so ponied up for some more!
Game 1: Bully Scholarship Edition (PC) – 13hrs (Completed)
Personally, I'd say avoid the PC version of this game. It runs decently, but the audio in the game is terrible. Lots of repeated lines, the sound affects were annoying. Some sound affects were louder then the dialog (no I didn't have sound effects louder then dialog and music), and played at weird times. Fun game, but avoid the PC version.
Game 2: Sonic Generations (PC) – 5hrs (Completed)
I'm actually surprised it took me this long to beat it. I could have sworn it was longer. Anyways it was a great game, one of the better recent Sonic games to come out. The last battle was insufferable, but overall I had fun.
Game 3: Call of Duty Ghosts: Campaign (PS4) – 5hrs (Completed)
So I was pretty surprised that I actually understood the story this time around. Black Ops 2 had a decent story, but this one was pretty cool.
Roark
was a pretty badass villain.
Game 4: Tales of Xillia (PS3) - 29hrs (Completed)
So this took me a real long time to finish, but I did. I hated the final boss, but overall I liked it. It wasn't packed full of content like Vesperia or the other Tales Of games were, but it was still a nice ride. Don't think I'll play through it again, but I did enjoy it.
Game 5: Grand Theft Auto V (PS3) - 24hrs (Completed)
So this one took me a really long time to beat. I didn't do any side missions, I just went straight through the game. I don't really have much to say about the game except that it was beautiful, and I enjoyed the story.
Michael > Franklin > Trevor
Game 6: Castlevania Lords of Shadow (PS3) - 22hrs (Completed)
This game was very long. It took me longer then most to finish it, because I got trapped on a lot of puzzles. Also, I kept trying to go back and pick up health/magic upgrades (usually failing and accomplishing nothing). I don't get why people hate the game so much, I quite enjoyed it. Nice combat, decent story, and the graphics were amazing for a PS3 game in 2010. If there's one I disliked about the game, it would be all the magic switching. You have to switch from darkness to light, almost every second. It gets a little annoying, even if it does try to mix the combat up.
Game 7: Radiata Stories (PS2) - 23hrs (Completed)
Such a great JRPG, it was so fun recruiting a bunch of characters. I also like how the story was mostly light-hearted and didn't get too serious like most JRPG's are. The final dungeon was literally trolling me. It was made just to laugh at you for picking the wrong path, I hated it yet loved it. I 100% recommend this to anyone looking for a good PS2 JRPG to play.
Game 8: South Park The Stick of Truth (PS3) - 9hrs (Completed)
As a South Park fan, it was amazing. The game reminded me of Paper Mario, but in a South Park world. I had a ton of laughs, and even got the platinum trophy on it after completing it since I enjoyed it so much. Would definitely recommend it to any South Park fan, it has a ton of references. The only flaw in the game, is that it's pretty short.
Game 9: One Piece Pirate Warriors 2 (PS3) - 23hrs (Completed)
This game was leaps and bounds better then Pirate Warriors 1. They mostly fixed everything that was wrong with the first. The annoying marine commanders, the lava rain (in the first one the lava rain was almost tracking you sometimes) ruining combos, and tons of more characters to play. I kept replaying missions, so it took me longer then expected to beat it.
Game 10: J-Stars Victory VS (PS3) - 22hrs (Completed)
This is a fighting game, but it had 4 story modes in it. Each story mode takes about 4hrs to complete, with side missions and other extras within it. The story mode is very boring, but I did all the side missions and extras to platinum it. Which I did. My favorite story was probably Ichigo's, since it had my favorite character Oga Tatsumi in his.
Game 11: Disgaea D2 (PS3) - 27hrs (Completed)
It took me like 3hrs of grinding to beat the final boss. Disgaea bosses are always tough if you don't overpower a character for it. I loved this game just like all the other Disgaea games. It's not one of my favorite Disagea games (that would be D3 and D4), but it was still a fun ride. If you like tactical JRPG's, then I'd highly recommend it.
Game 12: Infamous (PS3) - 6hrs (Completed)
I beat this game before, but I decided to get the platinum trophy for the game. Which of course involves beating the game again. Replaying the game really made me realize how buggy it is. I fell through the world 5 times, and had a blackout glitch. Cole was terrible at climbing, and the invisible enemies with shotguns were unbearable. Maybe the game isn't as great as I thought it used to be...
Game 13: Silent Hill Downpour (PS3) - 7hrs (Completed)
This game is very buggy. Takes a while to load textures when entering an area, TONS of stuttering, the camera goes crazy during combat which causes Murphy to miss enemies a lot, and the A.I. isn't great. Even though I say all this, I still enjoyed the game. I'm a big Silent Hill fan, so the story drew me in more then the gameplay. The story was really good, and kept me interested. I got a platinum in this game already, but I decided to give it another playthrough to add it to this list.
Game 14: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2) - 50hrs (Completed)
This was a very long game, but I should have expected it since it's from Atlus. It was really fun, and I liked playing it. The only con I have about the game, is the dungeons. The dungeons were really bad, and required something further then just thinking. No, it was solutions that you could rarely think of, to get through some of the dungeons. The dungeons were the only thing that dragged the game down for me. The characters were also a problem for me, but I won't go into that.
Game 15: Banjo-Tooie (N64) - 16hrs (Completed)
A very fun Banjo game. I wouldn't say it's better then Kazooie, since it had a ton of annoying parts. It's still a great game. I played this game before, but I got trapped at some quiz show near the end. So I decided to restart it all these years later, and pass that part when I reach it. Final words, WORSE FINAL BOSS EVER! I've never dealt with suce a tedious, and boring final boss. I will never play that part again.
Game 16: Megaman Legends 2 (PSX) - 10hrs (Completed)
Megaman Legends 1 was my favorite game, so I was pretty hyped to try out Legends 2. The hype was worth it! Really great game, but I didn't enjoy it more then MM1. It probably has to do with the story being pretty hard to understand, compared to the first one. If there's one thing I liked about this game, was the better lock-on system. That was very much needed.
Game 17: Bastion (PC) - 5hrs (Completed)
Beat this game in one sitting, but it was great. Very fun, and has a ton of choices for weapons. I was mixing it up a lot, until I found my best setup. War Machete, and the Flamethrower (I forgot what it's called) were my go to weapons. I just let the status effect damage do the job for me. Bosses were very easy because of this. The story was very interesting, and I ended up choosing
the save the guy and stay with everybody ending. The old guy was too cool to leave behind.
I might play this again on the harder difficulty.
Game 18: Psychonauts (PC) - 8hrs (Completed)
I beat this game before, a long time ago on Xbox. The game was still as good as I remembered. It is very imaginative, and creative. It's pretty funny as well. I didn't collect everything because I was trying to finish it quickly, but I might go back and do so another time. I would highly recommend this if you want a good platformer to play. The PC port is good as well, I didn't have any problems on my end.
Game 19: Half-Life 2 (PC) - 10hrs (Complete)
Really loved this game, and it makes me understand why people want a Half-Life 2 so much. I had a few problems with the platforming, and the game dragging on near the end. It was still a fun game though. I probably should have played Half-Life 1 before playing this, because I didn't understand any of the characters that weren't introduced properly.
Game 20: Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty (PS2) - 11hrs (Complete)
This game was amazing, just like all the other MGS games. Raiden wasn't that bad of a protagonist, except when Rose moments came up. The cutscenes were probably 3hrs of my playthrough lol.
Game 21: StarFox Assault (GC) - 5hrs (Complete)
This game was fun, I don't know what people were talking about when they call it bad. I only have 2 cons about the game. First, the Landmaster was not fun to ride in. It was very frustrating. Also, I can do without the Blaster charging in this game. It was very annoying to have to charge up the blaster everytime I wanted to fire. The flying segments were amazing, and I loved them. So verall, the game is pretty good. Not perfect, but good.
Game 22: StarFox 64 (N64) - 1hr (Complete)
This game is WAY shorter then I thought it was. It sucks that I didn't get the true ending (I got it before but just wanted to do a straight playthrough). The game is still great as I thought it was, but I really hate the inverted movement. Why do all N64 games have inverted aiming? It really messes me up everytime I start an N64 game, and the aiming is inverted. How did I used to play these games like this?
Game 23: Megaman 64 (N64) - 4hrs (Complete)
My favorite game of all time, which I still think is better then Megaman Legends 2 (I prefer no lock-on in MM64, then lock-on in MML2). Anyways, I'm surprised I finished this so fast. I skipped all the cutscenes, and pretty much knew every turn. So I was able to fly through the game (I beat this game once a year). I couldn't recommend this enough, just go play it.
Game 24: Call of Juarez Gunslinger (PC) - 4hrs (Complete)
I really beat this in 4hrs? Felt longer, but I can't argue with what Steam says. Anyways, this was a pretty great game. One of the better first person shooters around. Loved the western theme, and the whole story telling protagonist. Would recommend this, if you want a good first person shooter. Kinda short though.
Game 25: One Piece Unlimited World Red (PS3) - 18hrs (Complete)
It actually didn't take me 18hrs to beat the story. It probably took me 10hrs, but I didn't beat the game until I was done with the Colosseum mode. I was literally on the final boss, and just decided to finish the Colosseum mode before beating it. This is probably one of the best One Piece Unlimited games, I've ever played. I'd probably even say that it's better then Unlimited Adventure. So much extra quests, and activities to do. I finished the story at 10hrs, yet I'm on my 40th hour doing extras. Go play this game whether your a One Piece fan, or just interested in One Piece. It's worth it.
Game 26: Silent Hill 2 (PS2) - 6hrs (Complete)
One of my favorite games, and my favorite of the Silent Hill series. Usually play this game once a year, so playing this was just natural. I've played this game so much, that I don't have much to say about it. It just has a great story, and is fun. In a creepy environment sort of fun.
Game 27: Silent Hill Shattered Memories (PS2) - 5hrs (Complete)
I'm actually not sure how long it took me to beat this game, since the game wasn't recording my time like usual SH's do. I just know that it took me a short time to beat it. It's a pretty interesting game, but can get repetitive fast. You explore, investigate, solve a puzzle, do a chase scene, and then do that over and over again. Even though it was repetitive, I still liked the spin on SH's story. I'd only recommend it if your a fan of SH, I wouldn't recommend it to just anybody.
Game 28: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (PS2) - 7hrs (Complete)
So this game looks, and plays like absolute crap. I didn't do any research before getting this game, so I was expecting it to look like the PS3 version. Instead, it looked like a PSX game. I'm not even joking, it looked that bad. Not only did it look bad, but it has a lot of glitches/bugs. I froze 2 times throughout my playthrough, and got stuck many times as well while jumping. I wouldn't recommend it, unless the PS3 version is way better. At least the story was somewhat interesting. I used Captain America, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Cyclops on my playthrough (Iron Man and Captain America were locked out of most missions which I found really stupid).
Game 5 Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale 3 hours 5 Mins Completed
This is a very charming adventure/card battler game.
Game 6 Witch & Hero 3 hours 56 Mins Completed
I'm not sure if this is a port of a mobile game but it plays like one. Pretty basic bump and grind mechanics,survive the wave+ boss. Great game to play in bursts but can be grindy.
Game 7 Uncharted 3 11 Hours 10 Mins Completed
The latest game in a fight the wave of bullet sponges series. More of the same but it was enjoyable. They really liked recycling the train setpiece from the second game a bit too much.
Game 8 D&D: Chronicles of Mystara ~ 3 hours Completed
I always wanted this collection since the Saturn release, ending up double dipping on it just because. Pretty fun beat em up finished both games with my six year old nephew.
9. Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs Full Boost - Put in 38 hours in under two weeks, finished every arcade route and mission. Still gonna be playing with GundamGAF, but in terms of content to finish, it's all done.
My god I love this game. I'm a hardcore gunota, but I haven't played a game in the series since Gundam vs Gundam for PS2 and the fanservice, the refined gameplay, all the little things I love it so much. High entry price though as got the Premium G Sound Edition, so I was in about $110. But it was worth it for all the nostalgia of all the classic Gundam music.
Just wanna ask before adding it to my list, I just played Wolf Among Us Episode 2, would that count as a game, or is it dlc, or would I need to beat all 5 episodes before it would count?
Might be worth putting this in the OP, since questions like these often get asked, but I think the spirit of the challenge is that you define "finished" for yourself. So if each episode of The Wolf Among Us feels like a self-contained piece to you, or just feels like enough of a game to put down, then go for it! It's not like there are any prizes here or anything, so "cheating" would just be robbing yourself of the satisfaction of saying "I beat 52 games this year."
I've been keeping an excel spreadsheet for myself for games that I've played completed since the new year, so I might as well share them on here as well. Unfortunately I haven't really been keeping track of playtime though, more like single player campaigns that I have completed.
Game 1 The Last of Us PS3 1/3/2014
One of the best games of 2013, good mix of great gameplay, and well done characters and story. Visually beautiful game that makes me question why a PS4 is even necessary.
Game 2 XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within PC 1/11/2014
Decent strategy game, fun making characters and customizing them how you want. Would be more of a challenge on higher difficulty.Weak story I think, like…what happened? Nice visuals, but kinda bland character designs. Without that good story/character draw that a game like Fire Emblem had, I just don't get as much out of it sadly. Still a fun game though.
Game 3 Super Mario Galaxy Wii 1/12/2014
Beautiful game visuals, fun gameplay and platforming. Challenging. Sometimes could be frustrating, because the gravity switching can be confusing, but still a good game.
Game 4 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons PC 1/12/2014
Very short game, but just the right length. Beautiful presentation, exceeded my expectations. Good narrative, controls a little hard to get used to through the game, but unique enough that I still kinda like it.
Game 5 Super Mario Land GB/3DS 2/3/2014
Weirdest of the Mario games I've played. Short, only had 4 worlds. Collision with items and enemies were a bit frustrating, because I would go through them sometimes. I feel like it was more like a bootleg Mario game than a real one.
Game 6 Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past SNES/WiiU 2/3/2014
Great music and visuals, but I found the dungeons to be kinda frustrating later on. I could've been playing it impatiently perhaps, but I just got frustrated with enemies that constantly shot projectiles. Still a good Zelda game, and provides that nice sense of nostalgia for me even though I didn't play it when I was younger.
Game 7 Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds 3DS 2/9/2014
One of the best Zelda games in years. I kept wondering how this game could be getting such great reviews, and now I see why. Nintendo knocked it out of the park with this one. Great music, combat, visual presentation, dungeon design and layout. Easy to figure out, but still challenging. One of the best games of 2013.
I was hesitant that I would ever beat this game, because I had played it closer to release, and got pretty far, but I lost that save file before I ever finished the game. A lot of people told me it was not worth restarting to finish, but I went ahead and did it anyway. Overall I still think it is a fun game, and a much more enjoyable experience than the first FFXIII because it jumps you right into the combat, and story picks up at a better pace. As for the story, it is very complex, but not impossible to understand. Maybe not very grounded in reality, but it's still interesting, and kinda mind bending.
Game 9 - Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 3/16/2014
- I don't know…I don't feel completely unsatisfied, but I do feel underwealmed. As a game, it is really barebones feeling with main story content feeling real slim. The combat is kinda fun, but I think I actually prefered the old battle system of 13, and 13-2. It felt difficult to find schemata sets that worked, and the differences between the many outfits didn't really seem signifigant. Just eye candy. Visually it looks nice in some spots, but probably the weakest production of all the FF13 games. Ending is real nice, and some of the main cutscenes are alright, but overall there's a lot of poor ones. Lightning looks great, and so do the other main characters, but that's it. The enviorments are not that different, and they aren't that big even compared to 13-2 I feel. The game is full of side quests of unimportant characters, and not enough of the main ones. The main quests that are there...are alright. Nothing that great though, and no real revelations happened to me until near the end. I kinda liked the crazy ending, but it's kinda weird. The way some final fantasy games go off the deep end with their logic bothers me sometimes, and it did a little in this one...but after all the happened in the series, I just went with it I guess.
Game 10 - South Park: The Stick of Truth - PC - 3/17/2014
-Funny game, and good mechanics. Simple to play, and not real difficult or very long for an RPG, but an enjoyable experience. Most of the references were still easy to pick up even though I hadn't watched the show much. Not especially difficult may be a flaw, but it made for a fun play either way. Looks just like the show which is still cool.
Game 11 - Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - Xbox One - 3/18/2014
-Well as said by many others before I had a chance to play, it is very short, but does seem designed with replayability in mind. For those like me who love Metal Gear for their story, it's really frustrating that it provides so little, and is mainly a teaser long in advance for the upcoming The Phantom Pain which is still more than a year away (at least). Having said that, the new game mechanics, and new engine I think runs top notch. The game is gorgeous on any platform I think, and it's fun exploring the world that there is. I want to play it more, but my overall opinion on it is 50/50. Great game, but too short. I should be mad about spending $30 for it, but it's hard to stay mad when it's nice to have that taste of Metal Gear Solid V this soon.
Game 04: Metroid Prime [replay] - 9,5/10 - 16:51 hours
I reached 100%, completed everything aside from scanning those damn Ice Shriekbats; replayed it as a part of Metroid Trilogy, so that I can then proceed to the two sequels, that I never played before. What a game! Genius level design coupled with amazing atmosphere: I found myself in awe at some choices of the developers; the game's a relic of a time gone by, when FPS (even though the adventure here is as prominent as the shooting) were all about freedom to explore mazes and structures, while mowing down enemies: it feels closer to Doom than any other gruesome FPS of today. The graphics hold up very well even today, thanks to some beautiful artistic choices, the sound is perfect, the new motion controls added in the collection work flawlessly: I think this is the best use of motion controls in gaming, bar none. Only problems I could find were related to pacing: lots of stuff to scan at the beginning (Ruins/Overworld), then almost nothing (Phendrana/Magmoor), then in the Mines again lots of scanning breaking the action; though that's a totally optional activity, so it's not that big of a complaint. Speaking of pacing, the transport and tunnel system could have been realized in a better way, as you often find yourselves having to go through the same areas to reach new content; but then again this is way more apparent if you go for the 100% ending. All in all it's a masterpiece, I doubt I'll play anything better this year.
Game 05: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - 8,5/10 - more or less 20 hours
Great game, it's fundamentally Phoenix Wright, just out of court and with a few different characteristics. You can move in third person inside pre-rendered backgrounds, so one would assume you have more freedom than in the original series, but it's actually the opposite: most of the game feels on rail, you are almost always stuck in a place and can't leave until you trigger the next event by doing everything you can right there. The gameplay doesn't really add anything new, aside from the Little Thief, a device capable of virtually recreating a crime scene: an interesting concept explained in great detail that sadly ends up under-utilized (it's used three times only in the entire game); there are still testimonies and rebuttals, just not in court, but the magatama's psyche-locks are gone; the game is basically more straightforward. The story is still the best part, we've all the cases that interwine to create an ongoing plot, with a long and fulfilling climax; though the plot is way more complicated than in previous games, and a tad more difficult to follow, as it takes a wider, international, perspective.
Might be worth putting this in the OP, since questions like these often get asked, but I think the spirit of the challenge is that you define "finished" for yourself. So if each episode of The Wolf Among Us feels like a self-contained piece to you, or just feels like enough of a game to put down, then go for it! It's not like there are any prizes here or anything, so "cheating" would just be robbing yourself of the satisfaction of saying "I beat 52 games this year."
Game 6 Witch & Hero 3 hours 56 Mins Completed
I'm not sure if this is a port of a mobile game but it plays like one. Pretty basic bump and grind mechanics,survive the wave+ boss. Great game to play in bursts but can be grindy.
