Metal Gear Solid
Duration played: 13:51:43

Finally decided to play this game, now that the Metal Gear Solid hype is on. Pretty good game, but obviously aged. The controls are pretty bad for today's standards and the gameplay is just okay. I liked the story telling, but it didn't go as in depth as I would have like it to be. But this was revolutionary for its time of course. The game really didn't feel as if it needed a sequel, but with that post credits conversation I just can't wait to play Metal Gear Solid 2.

(Original post with list of completed games.)

Original Post

Lara Croft GO

Criteria: Standard game completion.
Time played: 3 hours

This was far, far better than it had any business being. It's a very short game, but it did a great job of recreating the feel of older Tomb Raider games, even with the completely different game mechanics. I'd recommend anyone interested to give this game a try. Picked up Hitman GO as a result of playing this, seeing as it's on sale atm. Hoping I enjoy it even half as much.

Pre-MGSV update:

Main post

Game 30: Alpha Protocol (360) - 17 hours [8/22/15] ★★★½


Beat game on Easy. 22/50 achievements unlocked.

In spite of all of the game's myriad issues, I came away liking this game quite a bit. It helped that the worst was over following Moscow, and I had a mostly smooth experience the rest of the way. I didn't come across any more bugs where the game ignored my choices (which was very infuriating), and subsequent bosses (while still pretty crappy) weren't nearly as frustrating as the Brayko fight.

I definitely like the game a lot more for its ideas than its execution. Who knows exactly why it turned out the way that it did, but it really could have been something amazing with a better production. I'm not sure I've ever played anything where the consequences of my actions were as significant to the game's progression as it was here.


Game 31: Pandora's Tower (Wii) - 27h20m [8/29/15] ★★★★


I finished it (76%) and got the best ending.

Really neat game across the board. It's got a cool story that feels very modern, which clashes a bit with the game's setting, and it feels pretty fresh as a result. The towers are mostly well-put together and got more challenging and complex as the game progressed, doing a pretty good job of mixing Zelda-style dungeon progression with Souls-style urgency. And it makes great use of the Wii-mote throughout the game, most creatively with the boss fights. The camera got in the way a few times, but overall I thought it played well.

So yeah, I liked it a lot!


Game 32: Star Fox 64 3D (3DS) - 1h23m [8/29/15] ★★★½


I haven't played a "proper" Star Fox since SF64 back 16, 17 years ago. I wanted to give the 3DS version one quick spin before SFZ released, and it's largely how I remember it. I think they did a really nice job on the remake. Like with the N64 Zelda remakes, it gives you that "this is how you remember it looking" feel rather than "this is how it ACTUALLY looked". It looks great, and the 3D in particular looks stunning. Usually I turn the 3D down or all the way off when playing 3DS games, but I cranked it up all the way here because of how effective it was.

I remember playing the N64 version for the first time as a kid and recalling how blown away I was by the sheer spectacle of the asteroid belt level, and between the remastered visuals and the 3D effects, the 3DS version does an effective job of recreating that experience. Should whet my appetite for more Star Fox in November.

theecakee said:

17. Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward

★★★★☆

Initial thoughts, the game was really good. I think it was better then 999 personally, in the way how the story all played out with the ending. Still can see a lot of unanswered questions and such for a Zero Escape 3 to be made...looks like I'll get into that next year when it comes out. Idk I thought it was just 999 again but with good improvements.

Click to expand...

Finished another game on this goal that I'll never achieve since I need to play 35 games in what 4 months?

Idk what I will be playing next. Thinking Persona 3 finally.

Here we go... All reviews are on a 5 point scale and impressions are crappy because doing +52 of them isn't something i'm good at lol

Sony Platforms
Battlefield 4 (Campaign)

Hours: 7
Review: 2

The campaign for this game is a really awful COD knockoff. Terrible checkpoints, recycled environments, and a lot of whizbang scripted events all leading to a very underwhelming ending to a story i wasn't exactly engaged in. The MP is a solid 5 though.

Unfinished Swan

Hours: 3
Review: 4

Great little experience that goes by real fast. Nice game for one sitting. Not intense and always interesting.

Rogue Legacy

Hours: 17
Review: 5

A little grindy but the game had me coming back for more and more. a real treat.

Diablo 3

Hours: 15-20
Review: 4

incredibly slow start, almost gave up during the first 2 acts. Act 3 changes the setting and ramps the story up enough to finally engage me in the game. By Act IV, i found myself fully enjoying this game, despite its best effort to bore me to tears. I still think that the first two acts are terribly dull and really offputting but i'm glad i kept with the game.

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls

Hours: 6-8
Review: 4

Tougher than D3 vanilla and more varied, Reaper of Souls seems happy to take the parts that gelled together in the final bits of D3 and make a better, fuller experience. You'll find that the threads left hanging in D3 are all pretty much resolved in RoS, and the addition of Adventure mode helps to give a reason to keep coming back for more. If you finished Diablo and wanted more of the parts that made it good, RoS is a pretty safe bet.

Rayman Legends

Hours: 8-10
Review: 4

Recommend playing on either the Vita or Wii U so that you can experience the touch sections the right way. Still, touch sections are easily the weakest parts of the game and took it from a 5 to a 4 for me. If you liked Origins then this is an extremely easy recommendation. A fantastic 2d platformer and a shame these games don't get enough love.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Hours: 8.5
Review: 5

Fantastic portable GTA experience. My only real issue with the game is the lack of checkpoints during missions, which lead to a lot more retries than I cared for. That and that the shooting was a bit funky on the PSP version. Otherwise, a great game with little to no repetitive missions in the main campaign.

Counterspy

Hours: 3.5
Review: 4

Really fun stealth game. My main gripes come with some of the random levels being a bit unfair and that I wish i could see more of my surroundings so i don't end up making a big mistake. A sequel could be a damn near perfect game.

Megaman X4

Hours: 5-6
Review: 4

Great Megaman game. I played and finished it as Zero, really enjoyed playing as him for the whole campaign. Looks great on the Vita.

Killzone Mercenary

Hours: 5
Review: 4

Possibly the best looking game i've ever seen on a portable. Was much more fun than Shadowfall and while the campaign isn't very long, it does have multiple approaches to each of the 9 missions granting it plenty of replayability. The money system works really well and the fact that it the unlocks are available for both single and multiplayer makes playing both feel rewarding. That last (only?) boss sucks ass, though.

Murasaki's Baby

Hours: 2
Review: 4

A short but pleasant experience. My main issues with the game are that it's almost exclusively touch controls which tend to not be as functional as they should be.

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

Hours: 5-6
Review: 4

A fun yet challenging 2.5 platformer, Klonoa is still an ambitious game even when compared to its more modern descendants. For its charm and gleeful joy (which doesn't stay that way by the end of things), it leaves something to be desired in regards to its hitboxes. Hadn't the game felt a bit off because of that, it could've easily become a classic in the genre. Still, the game is well worth playing if you're looking for an interesting take on the typical platformer.

Never Alone

Hours: 3
Review: 4

Good little platformer. Not super precise but not frustrating in any way either. Worth it just to check out the well produced video documentaries

Sonic the Hedgehog

Hours: 1
Review: 3

A good sonic game and not bad for being the first. I came away with the same feeling I had with Mega Man 1, that Sonic 2 is to Sonic 1 what MM2 is to MM1 in that Sonic 1 built the baseline and Sonic 2 is the game that is better in every regard.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssey - New 'n' Tasty

Hours: 7
Review: 4

A pretty enjoyable puzzle platformer. It has some technical issues on the PS4, it's a bit glitchy and the framerate is all over the place. Game is still a good time in spite of all that. Also, looks great!

The Order 1886

Hours: 6
Review: 3

One of the best looking games ever is paired with gameplay design that is about a decade old. Nothing revolutionary here but also nothing done terribly wrong either. Just a really REALLY good looking TPS with a well done - if rather incomplete - story that is engaging enough to allow you to ignore the fact that the gameplay is more barebones that Gears of War 1.

Hitman Contracts

Hours: 10
Review: 3

When it works, it can be a 4 or 5 star game. But its missions are uneven in quality and it reuses one of its maps later on giving the whole thing a cheap feeling. Still, there are some stellar missions in this game and worth your time and the variety of ways to tackle a situation really make the the good parts stand out.

Flower

Hours: 2
Review: 3

When not fighting the controls and feeling a bit bored at the first half of the game being essentially the same thing, there are flashes of brilliance sprinkled throughout this experience. It's just hampered by a control scheme that never feels quite right, even on the PS4 where it plays better than it did on the PS3.

The Swapper

Hours: 4-5
Review: 4

A wonderful game that gets dinged only for perhaps being too difficult a couple of times. I found myself switching back and forth befween loving it and wishing it was on a disc so i could snap it in half. But, man, what a fun little journey regardless.

iOS

Monument Valley

Hours: 1
Review: 5

Short but enjoyable and beautiful. Great game to play in one sitting and hard to put down.

Framed

Hours: 1
Review: 4

Comic-swapping mechanic doesn't become exhausting during the hour or so of gameplay, though it appears that even with the short length of the game the devs still reused some assets during the campaign. Enjoyable for the free dollars I paid for it.

The Room

Hours: 2
Review: 4

Pretty good game, really. I do wonder if the textures were this rough on the original ipad version compared to the pocket iphone version that i'm playing. Textures can range from being intricately detailed to looking like a modern PC game being run at the lowest settings. And I have had to use clues just a couple of times because there's some stuff that i just forget about. Luckily, the clues escalate in such a way that the first clue is usually just a gentle nudge in the right direction, still leaving you feeling like you solved the puzzle on your own.


Steam/PC

Dishonored: Knife of Dunwall‎

Hours: 4
Review: 4

not quite as good as the main game but really solid. reminds me of a good olf school expansion pack

Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches

Hours: 4
Review: 4

not quite as good as the main game but really solid. reminds me of a good olf school expansion pack

Watch_Dogs

Hours: 16
Review: 2

sociopath of a main character and gameplay that is both unfun and repetitive. too damn long, too. cant recommend it.

Shovel Knight

Hours: 7
Review: 5

best game i've played this year and it would've made my top 5 of last year had i played it then. I'd give it a 6/5 if that was a thing.

Remember Me

Hours: 10
Review: 3

An ok game that dabbles in a lot of interesting ideas but doesn't do much else. Looks amazing on PC. its a jack of all trades, master of none type of experience.

Batman: Arkham Origins

Hours: 13
Review: 4

Not as good as its Arkham siblings but still a fun game. felt no need to do the side quest but respected it for not overindulging in collectibles. the story is good, but feels like it got chopped up and edited down. worth it if you liked the last 2 games.

Batman: Arkham Origins - Cold, Cold Heart DLC

Hours: 4
Review: 3

For whatever reason, these batman games keep gettin meh DLC campaigns. the final fight was annoying and even at 4ish hours it stlll felt a bit too long.

OlliOlli

Hours: 3
Review: 4

Solid little game. A fun take on the runner-type of game. I didn't dig too deep into it after finishing the main levels but I could see how one could really get into this game.

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD

Hours: 7
Review: 3

There's no present day narrative and the game seems like a bunch of small missions bound together loosely by a story that is undercooked and poorly told. Still, it plays fine and ran ok on PC and was, at its worse, ok.

Iron Brigade

Hours: 6
Review: 3

It's an enjoyable coop tower defense experience with a focus on directly attacking the fodder and a loot aspect to it all. Probably not that much fun solo, though.

Sonic 4: Episode 1

Hours: 4
Review: 2

A pale imitation of older, better sonic games. You're better off replaying one of those games instead.

Iron Brigade: Rise of the Martian Bear

Hours: 4
Review: 3

It's more Iron Brigade, only much tougher and with new loot. If you liked IB then this is a no brainer.

Mortal Kombat X

Hours: 5
Review: 4

The campaign isn't as good as it was in MK9. I haven't looked it up but it definitely feels like you play as less characters and the story isnt as interesting this time around. It's still fun to go through it, though, and the epilogue sets up MKXI really well.

DmC: Devil May Cry

Hours: 8
Review: 4

not as deep as the other games in the series but still competently made, DmC does some pretty neat things. I could take or leave the color coded combat and the story is goofy while still kinda taking itself a bit serious, satire be damned, the game spends most of its time having you transverse Limbo, a messy alternate world that has been merging with reality over time. I dunno, i liked it but i wished that i loved it like others do.

DmC: Devil May Cry - Vergil's Downfall

Hours: 2
Review: 3

More DmC, this time with motion comics and with you playing as Vergil in a post-DmC storyline. It was fine for the less than 2 hours that it lasted but it's short and not that different from the main game. It's ok.

The Fall

Hours: 4
Review: 5

I couldn't put it down until i finished it. really enjoyable and weirdly action-y for what essentially a PnC game. I am excited to play the next chapter in the series, just extremely well done!

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Hours: 8
Review: 4

A good shooter that is well paced and quirky with its noir stylings and silly in-world TV shows. Plays really well on a controller using an Xpadder profile. My only issues with this game were the clunky platforming sections and that the story is damn near nonsensical, even if you played and remembered the first game. Oh, and that it loves to reuse stages.

Fallout: New Vegas - Honest Hearts DLC

Hours: 3
Review: 2

The only real bonus of this DLC is getting some pretty decent weapons during the 3 hours or so that it lasts. That, and that you get to hang out with the Burned Man and see what he's been up to, which appears to just be a whole lot of tribal warfare. The story isn't compelling at all and the DLC is literally a long ass series of fetch quests just so that you can return home. I'd add an extra star if you really are just hungry for more fallout but it's probably not worth it to most.

Fallout: New Vegas

Hours: 22
Review: 5

An excellent followup to Fallout 3, the myraid choices that the game allows for continue to keep you engaged in you wasteland journey. While the main narrative itself isn't much to write home about, the multitude of options and side missions available to you will instill a sense of authenticity to the world that many games wish they could mimic properly. Fantastic ride!

Saints Row: Gat out of Hell

Hours: 4
Review: 3

This is literally 4-5 hours of side missions. Luckily, its gameplay is solid and the story stuff is silly enough to keep you going. But yeah, just have low expectations and you'll be somewhat surprised by how much you might enjoy it.

Assassin's Creed IV: Freedom Cry

Hours: 4
Review: 4

Better than the game its based off of, this DLC actually has missions that didnt make me want to throw my controller. Well designed and still a looker, this is one of the better pieces of AC content in a while.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Hours: 8
Review: 4

An aggressive, offense first TPS where youre challenged to keep the mayhem going. Weapons are great and the game just feels tight. My only issue is that the game, even at 8 hours, feels a bit unevenly paced. A great time nonetheless.

Her Story

Hours: 3
Review: 4

I discovered the "ending" about 90 minutes in but kept playing just to see what else I could unravel. Great story and well acted, worth anyone's time.

The Stanley Parable

Hours: 3
Review: 4

like a digital ball of yarn, this game gets better the more it unravels. I really enjoyed just about every ending this game had and youtubed a couple that required wayyyyyyyy too much effort. What a fun little adventure!

Mind: Path to Thalamus

Hours: 4
Review: 3

Wow that ending is as subtle as being hit by a speeding bus. It's the polar opposite of Dead Esther where zero mystery is left intact and everything is handed to you. You know, sometimes less is more devs. Well this game has real puzzles in it so its a game compared to the interactive experience that DE was. Just kinda wish it wasn't at times. Especially with the boss fight at the end which is annoying and soured me a bit on the game.But I suppose it's worth it just for its Dali inspired stages. A pretty game to look at.

Binary Domain

Hours: 10
Review: 4

A really decent TPS for the PC. Runs and looks terrific. Only issues with the game are the repetitive environments and filler sections. It felt like a 6-8 hour game stretch to an 8-10 hour adventure

Nintendo Platforms

Star Fox 64 3D

Hours: 3
Review: 3

It's a pretty fun game and the 3D looks terrific but you can finish the campaign in under 2 hours. You'll only see half of the stages, though, so I'd recommend doing another run to see what you missed out on. It gets a 3 for being very very short for a retail game and also relatively simple and easy.

Dragon Quest V

Hours: 29
Review: 5

Fantastic old school JRPG which tells a story that is darker than expected given the genre. My only issues with it are some that you'd typically find with older JRPGs: the game doesn't spell out what to do next at time so I had to use a guide at least a couple of times to figure that stuff out. Also, while i can see the appeal of the whole monster catching aspect I didn't really like having them as party members. Otherwise, a terrific game overall and the first DQ game i've ever finished.

Super Mario 3D Land

Hours: 7
Review: 5

Fantastic game, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. I tried playing some of the special stages after finishing the game but the way they crank up the difficulty kinda turned me off. Might return to it in the future just to check some of those levels out.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Hours: 13
Review: 4

Solid but a bit repetitive. I enjoyed it but was also relieved when it was over. Probably the best ghostbusters game ever

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD

Hours: 25
Review: 5

Great Zelda game, though a bit lacking in dungeons and tends to recycle a lot of assets as well. Still, this is the definitive version of a classic and I enjoyed my time with it.

Lunar Knights

Hours: 10
Review: 3

Starts off well enough but wears out its welcome in the last third. The story leaves many questions unanswered and doesn't really add much to the experience. The game is essentially a dungeon crawler with a poor loot system and decent action. The flying scenes all kinda suck. It's just above mediocre, and that's mostly due to how well it plays in spite of all of its issues.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

Hours: 60
Review: 5

One of the best JRPGs ever made, a great portable adventure awaits whomever picks this game up. My only issues with the game is that it's filled to the brim with side quests but those can easily be ignored.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Hours: 20
Review: 5

A classic. Seeing so many of the staples of the series being part of this game was a delight. I did find that the lack of fast travel in the Dark World was a bit of a pain in the ass but, hey, this is an old game so i'll cut it some slack.

Pikmin 2

Hours: 16
Review: 4

So Pikmin 2 was a difficult dungeon crawler RTS with randomly generated floors. A fun game until it becomes a difficult grind, when it's good it feels like 5 stars but the unneeded grind really brings the experience down in the latter half. I ended up not rescuing Louie and just watching a youtube of that ending because I had had my fill of the game by then. Here's hoping that pikmin 3 is a bit more even compared to this game.

Xbox Platforms

Halo CE: Anniversary Edition

Hours: 10
Review: 4

Though the game is plagued with copy paste level design and a heavy dose of backtracking, it's also still holds up as one of the most enjoyable FPS games ever in regards to how it handles its combat. The AI remains competent to this very day in how dynamic and intelligent it reacts to the player's actions in the heat of battle. The remastered visuals are more of a hit than a miss most of the time, though i wish the cutscenes were animated at higher than 30 fps as it looks a bit off. Great way to start the MCC off.

Halo 2: Anniversary Edition

Hours: 9
Review: 4

Unlike Halo: CE, Halo 2's campaign is varied in all sorts of ways: more weapons, more vehicles, hell even more protagonists. Unfortunately, it is marred somewhat by it's abrupt ending and a story that could've used a bit more fleshing out.



GAMES I AM DONE WITH BUT DIDN'T TECHNICALLY FINISH

Soul Sacrifice Delta

Hours: 12
Review: 3

got to the final section of the campaign before the repetitve battle arena gameplay wore me out. I guess I'm just not into these monhun-likes

Hitman Go

Hours: 3
Review: 3

It's a fun game, i like the puzzle approach and the diarama look to the game is very well done. I just found myself hitting a wall that would require that i would repeat levels to unlock new ones and i didn't want to play the game anymore after that. It was a similar issue I ran into with the two Velocity Ultra games. Just let me finish the game and leave the other objectives to the real fans

Disgaea 3

Hours: 1
Review: NA

Tried to get into this game but it's way too systems heavy. Going to try out FFT War of the Lions to see if I like that any better.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

Hours: 2-3
Review: NA

The game started off really entertaining but slowly became a chore until I just decided to drop it as i wasn't enjoying myself any longer. Maybe it was really novel when it came out but i'm finding it to be a bit too tedious for my liking.


so that's 64 entries woohoo

Game 42: Until Dawn (13 Hours)(PS4) – 8/31/2015

Wow, talk about a game that nailed what it was going for. Just a pure joy to run through. The game looked fantastic, and did a great job of setting an atmosphere. The story mimicked horror movies perfectly and while i didn't find it overly scary i thought they did a great job with a few jump scares and creating some very tense moments. Particularly the mechanic to hold the controller still to help build tension in certain spots. The characters were well done and i loved the collectibles in this game. Not just the standard ones which further fleshed out the 3 main story arcs, but particularly the totems which gave glimpses into situations and deaths. Each time i saw one i swore to myself i could prevent it, yet more than a few times i felt that bit of deja vu as it played out on my screen. And boy do the decision hold some weight in this game, plenty of chances to feel and see the results of your actions. I hope they follow this up with another game in this genre, especially with Morpheus in the sight.

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#36. Velocity (PS3) -- August 27 -- 2:15:00 -- ★★★☆☆
I enjoyed the game, but my main takeaway is that it feels a little contrived. The mechanics are clever and the game is built well around them, but I think they lack the unity and simple elegance of, say, Ikaruga or Splatoon. This is just a personal nitpick, though. I'll definitely play 2X at some point.

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#37. Toki Tori 2+ (PC) -- August 31 -- 10:36:00 -- ★★★★☆
It's a metroidvania puzzle game, but instead of abilities and power-ups, it's your own knowledge of how the game works that allows you to progress. I think you can technically go anywhere right from the start. It's a really cool design. The game really trusts you to figure things out on your own, which I always appreciate, and some of the puzzles will seriously test you. Lots of great aha moments. One downside is that since the puzzles are often about doing things in a certain order, it can become tedious to repeat them from the start if you mess something up.

Still going slower than I want, but I still have a chance to finish 104 games this year. Maybe.


08-24-15 - Game 69: Pokémon Ruby - 50-ish hours
Had one last GBA Pokémon game to nuzlocke my way through and I hadn't played Ruby or Sapphire in quite some time. It's much more simple than Emerald, so I decided to do a "notepad" run where I can't even catch new Pokémon until something dies. Then I had the bright idea to combine it with banning item usage in battle plus not using a guide... My death count was embarassingly high It's also the first run where my starter hasn't made it to the end.


08-31-15 - Game 70: Batman: Arkham Origins blackgate - 13 hours for 3 playthroughs
What a surprise! I had only heard bad things and my first impression wasn't nice at all. The intro is slow and annoying and the controls are not really great. The map is also the worst thing ever.
Buuut.. when I got into it I really liked it! I liked the boss fights and... I dunno. Hard to explain what kept me playing actually. But I played it three times to grab all the achievements and had a nice time.


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(Gonna have to figure out a better layout. I hate how my posts look )

Ladekabel said:

August

Game 38: Ghost Trick (NDS): Great adventure game. Besides classic like the first two Monkey Islands or Day of the Tentacle I usually don't play adventures. But this one kept me at it. The animations are fantastic. The characters are cool and the story kept me interested, too. And the gameplay mechanic is also interesting. You can go into different objects and sometimes control them. You use this to either move forward or undo the deaths of people. Sometimes it's logical, sometimes it requires more abstract thinking but there are no "Use confetti with valve" or something like that.
Game 39: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix HD (PS3): I liked the new battle system they used with this entry in one of my favorite franchises. And even though I enjoyed the game and glad I could play something I missed because I didn't have a PSP, I have some complaints, too. First is that there are no Final Fantasy characters besides one. The whole game is a complete Disney show. The other thing that bugged me is on the technical site. There are some framerate issues and the aspect ratio isn't suited for a TV and I often wanted to see more, like in the main games. Otherwise it has problems with the world feeling kind of empty but that is a problem the whole series has. After all is said, I'd rank it number two in my personal ranking for the series.
Game 40: Kingdom Hearts: Re:Coded HD (PS3): Another game I missed in the series because 356/2 Days scared me off for future DS Kingdom Hearts games. Glad I watched the cutscenes and got to know of the story but in the end I don't regret having not played it back then.
Game 41: Suikoden (Vita): Great JRPG and while it is pretty short for a JRPG, I think if it was longer it would have overstayed its welcome. It has pretty and detailed sprites which look amazing on the Vita. The sprite animations in story-sequences were great, too, but outside of that they are a little bit stiff, especially the running animation of the main character. The battle system is great but the magic system is a little bit confusing at least for me. The inventory lacks a lot of comfort and the world map doesn't look appealing. But the cities and villages are good designed. And the story gets me going which was suprisingly dark.
Game 42: Catherine (PS3): I liked almost everything in and about Ctherine. I liked the characters, the scenario wasn't your typical videogame setting, the artdesign was great and the story isn't something you'd expect from a videogame. And while I like the base idea of the actual gameplay and the puzzles there is something that I loath about it. And that thing is the time limit. While it makes somewhat sense in the game itself for me it was pretty stressful. I even had to set it to easy difficulty though that could also be me being to stupid. Maybe Catherine would be higher in my toplist if it wouldn't have stressed me so much. I adore Catherine but I sadly can't love it.

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August update.

Triggerhappytel said:

Games 27 through 33 (updated)

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30: Super Exploding Zoo (Vita) - 15th August - approx. 10 hours, Platinum trophy earned
I thought this was a charming little puzzle game. Lovely art, fun idea, and neat gameplay, although the level design was sometimes not as interesting as it should have been.

31: Neverending Nightmares (Android) - 23rd August - approx. 2-3 hours
Really liked this game. Originally backed it on Kickstarter but I never claimed a copy as I don't game on PC or own an Ouya, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was coming to Android phones too via Humble Store.

32: Draw A Stickman: EPIC (Android) - 25th August - approx. 90-120 minutes
Cute simple little puzzle game with nice art and some neat little ideas. Definitely worth a dollar or your regional equivalent, although it's not very deep and there's not much to talk about.

33: Dragon's Crown (Vita) - 31st August - approx. 10 hours
I've had this thanks to PS+ for ages, but only started playing a few weeks ago after reading a topic about it here on Gaf. It was a really pleasant surprise; visuals are amazing (although I'm not a big fan of the art design), I really like the structure of the game with an overarching story and sub-objectives (actually reminded me a bit of Destiny) and it has a really nice level of customisation and depth. I've finished the main story and done a few levels of the Labyrinth, and I may keep playing a bit and continuing to level up my character. Completed as a dwarf, although I probably won't start a new character.

Currently playing: Dark Souls, House of the Dead Overkill (PS3), Dying Light (PS4)

Original Post


It's been a long, long time since I updated this list, so pardon the spam - finally got over 30 games completed and I'm aiming to hit 35 by the end of September AT LEAST.


Game #23. Last of Us: Left Behind (PS4)

I completed Last of Us shortly after its initial release on PS3 & as such, never bothered to upgrade to the shinier PS4 cousin... However, with my PS3 now disconnected I decided to give my new PS4 a much needed game boost and try out the much lauded exspansion.

Sadly, I think too much time had passed between playing the vanilla game and moving onto this, as my emotional attachment to the characters was on the decline and this side / origin story felt more like a chore the longer it went on.


Game #24. Bloodborne (PS4)

Fast paced, visceral & full of Miyazaki Souls spirit... nothing more I can say that hasn't been said to death on GAF already; great game, and made me want Dark Souls 3 more than I ever thought I would!


Game #25. Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush (Wii U)

A cute & adorable platformer that I just wish was easier to play across the dual screens... those beautiful clay visuals deserve better than the Wii U's lowly resolution on the gamepad.


Game #26. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4)

Brutal & bloody frustrating / Brutal & bloody adrenaline pumping.

Literally a game of mixed emotions for me, I hated and loved the first game but was determined to complete the title, the same could be said for part 2.
I hated its over reliance on gun-play, but its amazing soundtrack, immediate restarts and fast gameplay made this a keeper.


Game #27. Home: A Unique Horror Adventure (PS4)

Billed as a unique horror adventure, Home feels like a slightly weaker version of 'Lone Survivor' which uses a similar concept to greater effect.
The game whilst short left me feeling a bit underwhelmed when comparing it to the more expansive Lone Survivor.


Game #28. Limbo (PS4)

Despite appearing on several platforms throughout the years, I finally succumbed and grabbed the monochrome title. Overall a short but enjoyable game that I thoroughly enjoyed.


Game #29. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4)

Clocked in 340 hours into this beauty, completing all the non gwent side missions and of course every story mission...and I kinda wish it was even longer! Really looking forward to playing the new expansions next year


Game #30. Killzone: Shadowfall (PS4)

Meh.
Visually stunning at times and a midlly addictive multiplayer mode couldn't save me from that god awful story that just made me roll eyes at some of the hamfisted moments (Also enemy closets need to GTFO, seriously)


Game #31. Until Dawn (PS4)

I think the best way to describe my experience would be to say, 'it was just like a movie'.
Until Dawn was a simple, yet effective game that told a cliché framework of a story yet still kept me interested and emotionally invested enough to continue through the games flexible storyline.

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46. IA/VT Colorful (Vita)
All songs completed on Easy and Normal in Free Play. Almost all S-Rank or above, except a few of the hardest songs on Normal.

I'm not totally sure what it means that I finished IA/VT long before any of the Hatsune Miku games I own (and to which I will add Project Mirai DX in the near future). Maybe it's the aesthetic: IA/VT has a more refined, slicker sense of style than the Hatsune Miku games, even though the production values are obviously lower. I think I prefer the composers in IA/VT as well, though it's probably unfair to compare to only one half of Project Diva F. It's entirely possible there's a Hatsune Miku song that I'd like as much as, say, World Calling, but so far I haven't found it. There definitely aren't any videos in Hatsune Miku games that I like as much as that one.

But ultimately, maybe the reason I managed to finish IA/VT (on two difficulty levels, no less) is just that it's easier. The note charts are easier for me to read, and though it's hard to get a sense of which game has the more complex charts, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out Project Diva f/F was more technical. But that's okay--I made my peace a long time ago with my enduring mediocrity in most rhythm games. As it stands, I do have a few complaints about how IA/VT plays, but they feel more like complaints about the Vita than about the game itself. My fat fingers occasionally hit the wrong face buttons in the 7-8 star songs, and the d-pad feels sloppy, with up/down notes occasionally turning into left/right notes and killing my chain. I can't decide if these issues are a sign that I've graduated to mid-tier rhythm game play, or if it's more a case of the sore loser blaming the equipment for his loss.

I remember being hesitant to pre-order IA/VT for a few reasons--the multiple delays, the fact that I'd have to import, the relatively high price (though roughly average for Japanese Vita games). Discovering that SEE THE LIGHTS, one of the songs in the initial IA/VT trailers, was missing from the final game didn't help. But in the end, I'm glad I own the game. In a fall season brimming with rhythm game options--Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Project Mirai DX and Rock Band 4 are all coming in the span of a month, with Superbeat: Xonic not far behind--IA/VT has gone from potential black sheep to dark horse contender.

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#47 - Kirby Mass Attack



Quite the creative game, but the controls aren't that great... They are clever, I guess, but not as responsive as I wanted them to be. The musics are composed by the Mother 3 composer, Shogo Sakai! So the OST is pretty good. And the best part are the boss fights, which are all clever and creative, making use of the game's unique mechanics. Lastly, the game is adorable, as it is to be expected from Kirby.

56 (really 53) and counting

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=145201318&postcount=201

Even if I just complete my normal playthroughs for the rest of the year (horror games and codathon) I should hit around 70 total.

Came up short last year. Don't know if I'll do it again next year.

#9 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES VC on Wii U) (03:54:00) - There are yearly traditions and then there's this game. My annual all-levels playthrough is done and now included here.

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#38. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (PC) -- September 1 -- 3:36:00 -- ★★☆☆☆
There's nothing in this game that's particularly interesting. For a metroidvania game, it feels extremely linear and the level design is very basic. Collectibles are hidden in plain sight and most of them just unlock concept art. The visuals are nice, but the environments themselves are pretty generic (water, ice, factory). The simple puzzles feature played out concepts like laser redirection and adjustable water levels. I probably wouldn't have finished the game if it wasn't so short.

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#39. Xeodrifter (PS4) -- September 2 -- 2:12:00 -- ★★★☆☆
It's a very by-the-numbers Metroid clone. Obviously, that means you'll be backtracking a lot, which isn't inherently bad, but I think it's poorly implemented in Xeodrifter. There aren't any significant shortcuts, so if there's a power-up at the edge of one of the four maps, you have to go all the way there and all the way back to retrieve it. If you die along the way, which is quite easy if you're not careful, you lose anything you've collected and are shot back to the start (or to the one checkpoint in each level if you made it that far). There are multiple boss fights, but they're all against the same creature who receives a simple palette swap and an additional attack for each fight. It's a pretty good fight, at least. Negatives aside, the gameplay feels good and the jumping into the background mechanic has some fun implementations. I also like the secrets and the ability to customize your weapon. The game scratches the Metroid itch, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Games 1-12
Games 13-16
Games 17-21
Games 22-26
Games 27-30
Games 31-34

August:

Game 35: Grim Fandango Remastered
A fantastic point and click game that for some reason I've never played it before so it was great to play it for the first time. Some design choices are not meant to be for the current gaming crowd but I've enjoyed the ideas. The humor was great as well like the characters.

Game 36: CastleStorm
I've liked the strategy levels even considering they quickly got repetitive but the hack and slash levels were just padding and ended up being detrimental to the overall enjoyment I took out of the game. Another example that sometimes less is more.

Game 37: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle
I don't know why I keep buying fighting games considering how much I suck at them but at least in this one they allow you to break the game completely by buying "cheats".

Game 38: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
It's enjoyable but I don't see any improvements compared to Guardian of Light. Unless I'm misremembering even the puzzles are dumbed down on this one.

Game 39: Call of Juarez Gunslinger
Enjoyed the approach to storytelling and gameplay with this one but I've got bored by the half of the game and the 2nd part didn't proved me wrong.

1:54h. Completed Ground Zeroes Op, no Side Ops because it's a PS+ game and f*ck padding. Kotaku described this game as "a very small platter served in a very expensive restaurant". I mostly agree, but I would add that it's a very small, very good entree and when you're done the mâitre tells you "come back next year for the main dish, monsieur".

So, Ground Zeroes is the MGSV equivalent to the Tanker mission in MGS2, but sold as a standalone. It's pure MGS condensed in up to 2-3 hours of gameplay (more if you do the Side Ops, of course) and well, it's delicious to play. The soldiers seem "alive" and react to a plethora of things you do (think shooting down the cameras is the "safe" route? Think twice, you're bound to be detected for three different reasons if you do) the stealth is easy to play and difficult to master, and technically the visuals and the storytelling wil leave you mouth agape. Is it a great game? No, it's way too short for that. But it's a great intro to MGSV, one that you must play if you can.


Updated OP

Killer August, with 8 full games completed and half a dozen more whittled down substantially. Am now right on the cusp of hitting 52 and re-joining the Hall of Fame, will get it in the next few weeks. My wife got a 4-book deal, the kids are starting school, leaving me to have a ton of hours to game away in the late evening. Should be finishing up The Swapper, SWAT 4 + expansion, Republic Commando and Me and My Katamari soon.

Game 42: Apotheon (PS4) - August 2 - 10 hours
Stellar art, music and atmosphere elevate the old school jump and slash gameplay into very high levels. Quite possibly my favourite art from any western-developed (Canada, in this case) game, ever. I would take a Theseus or Perseus game in the same vein any day of the week.

Game 43: Battlefield Play4free (PC) - August 5 - 4 hours
The servers closed on July 15 apparently, I didn't know it and didn't uninstall until later. Solid enough gunplay, but hard to justify if you have any other shooting game on your hard drive. Irrelevant now, I suppose.

Game 44: Plants vs. Zombies (Vita) - August 8 - 21 hours
Simple, addicting, fun, this game surprised me greatly. Very easy 'campaign', but the challenges and survival provided some pushback. As a touch-control hater, I found the controls easy and intuitive. My 8th Platinum Trophy.

Game 45: Blood II: the Chosen (PC) - August 13 - 13 hours
Very LTTP, the sequel to the 1997 classic, which had incredible weapons, music, sounds and levels and is a top 10 FPS of all-time. The Chosen has absolutely none of those qualities and is the worst game Monolith has ever done and possibly the worst drop-off in a sequel's quality of all-time. Ugh.

Game 46: Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC) - August 17 - 28 hours
Falls short of the 2 classics, but is very solid in it's own right and a worthy entry to the series. The open City was a misstep, with the bite-size zones really hurting the game. Shalebridge and Gamall, however, are both great and rival anything from the 1st two games. Sounds and voices are top-notch as expected, considering the return of Eric and Terry Brosius. The Keepers are the most interesting faction of the big three, really pulling the combined story of all three games together to come full circle.

Game 47: No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii) - August 19 - 9 hours
Superb. Stripped down at first glance, NMH2 makes up for it quickly with 50% more Bosses and both Henry and Shinobu playable. A Video game's Video game, with horrible puns and obvious nods throughout, populated with a new cast of zany characters headed by a God-tier main in Travis and possibly the hottest woman in all of gaming, Sylvia. My new 2010 GOTY.

Game 48: Canabalt (PSP) - August 21 - 1 hour
Very simple gameplay, but I guess that's the point of the Endless Runner genre. Good pixel art but not much else.

Game 49: Tales of Symphonia (PS3) - August 29 - 60 hours
Long, beefy RPG with a ton of content and a solid combat system. Characters were pretty generic, save for Sheena and Zelos, who were both fantastic. Story was a bit melodramatic and predictable, but in this case it was the journey, not the destination. My first Tales game, surprisingly enough, considering my love for the genre.

Original Post

9h-ish. Completed Story and all sidequests I found. Boy, what a blast from the past. If I knew the game would have been this good I would have backed it. Killer setting, too, and it plays great on a tablet (so miffed HK will not release on Android) Cons? Way, way too short and linear.


Updated OP

Original post

#47 - Kirby: Canvas Curse



Alright, I never gave enough attention to Kirby spin off titles, but both Canvas Curse and Mass Attack proved to be great games, with CC being the best of them. The game is fun and creative, although really short. The music is okay-ish, with most tracks being remixes of classic tunes, with a few exceptions like this one, which is new and really great. Nways, I deeply recommend this game for anyone who likes experimental and fun games.

Games #1-20
Games #21-40

Game 40: Shadowrun Hong Kong - 31 Hours
PC
Finally finished the game yesterday. I liked it, but in the end, it does not beat Dragonfall in quality.

During the final mission, the transition icon to progress wasn't interactive, so I had to redo the mission twice before it worked properly. That was a waste of 2 hours of my life. My final playtime according to Steam is 31 hours. I guess that's right if I count some reloads and leaving the game on while doing other stuff.

The writing is a mixed bag. I liked it most of the time, but by the end, I was just quickly skimming NPC dialog in the base hub because it was a bit much to read and not top quality at all times. It also doesn't help that they for some reason felt it is a good idea to have the text to the right for the third time. Just put the text on the lower part of the screen. I don't mind a lot of words in my games. There was a lot of cool stuff to read, but not all of it was good or well written. It's a bit jarring seeing some really well written sections and then some that are clearly not as good. When it comes to the main story: It was decent, just not anything super exciting. I'm not satisfied with the lead up to the ending. I didn't feel that there were enough missions that directly had to do with our main objective. In the end, I say the main story missions were decent, but again not on the level of Dragonfall.
The writing was mostly good during missions, with some misses here and there. Overall, I can't really complain though, but i was not at the same level as Dragonfall. The female companions weren't amazing but still better than Glory and the annoying decker, I always forget his name.
Duncan wasn't bad, but very predictable. I liked Racter and Gaichu. I also like the cyberware dude NPC. The other NPCs, I didn't care much for. The Plastic Faced Man was really underused. I was expecting to see more on that front. I was looking forward to the confrontation with him, the omemtn I have been waiting for finally happens and it turns out to be one of the more underwhelming missions in the game.

I felt that this was the easiest game of the three HBS Shadowrun games. (I do play on Normal.) I got to reload the game once during a run because I accidentally killed an enemy that I wasn't supposed to (and when I had issues with a game breaking bug during the final mission), but not for dying. Gaichu and Racter are incredibly good in combat, and the same goes for is0bel and Duncan. On one hand, I shouldn't complain, because, to be honest, I hate it when games give you companions that you feel suck in combat. I only wish that we could develop the characters as we see fit and have direct control of their inventories. There a few big fights, but mostly there were not as many big ones as Dragonfall DC. The enemy variety wasn't too impressive. Even Returns was better in this regard if I remember correctly.

If they decide to make another game in the vein of the three they have already developed, I hope we get a big overhaul of many things. Loot could be a fun addition, but it isn't a must have. Maybe only have it on special enemies. A more open world structure. I'm not saying open world, just make areas feel more connected. I don't want everything to be self contained. Bigger environments, and in general, make the game feel a bit more alive. I also felt that the game didn't run well. It ended up with me checking framrates and what I saw was a bit surprising. It kept going from 60 to 20, to 60 and so on. The game is very poorly optimized. Or maybe my PC is shit, it has more than half a decade on its neck. User interface is in dire need of a n overhaul. The game was developed for PC, make an interface worth of PC games. Everything from quest log to inventory needs to be redone.

The soundtrack was good. I probably prefer Dragonfall's slightly more, but I'd still say that this was a solid soundtrack that I will probably listen to a couple of times now that I am done with the game. In general, I feel that the atmosphere is actually good. Best of the three games. The game is cool and I am happy to have backed it, yet I feel that it isn't as good as Dragonfall. Not much worse, but it still is a clear second. Much better than Returns, though.

Games 1-31



Game #32 - Ys: Memories of Celceta - 8/4/15 (21 hours)
This was much longer than all the other Ys games so far. I liked that you could use multiple different characters and each of their playstyles was different, at the same time the game felt a little easier because it was more than just Adol. The scale of the world was also significantly larger than anything before, which made 100% exploration a pain to get once you had been everywhere and only lacked .5% in the end. Overall this was a very nice addition to the series and something that will be replayed at some point. I finished this run on hard.



Game #33 - Freedom Wars - 8/14/15 (25 hours)
Screw that final boss. The game was pretty great up in rank 6 or so, where missions started taking forever to finish because the ai wasn't the best and mechs had a lot of health. Overall I enjoyed it and felt like it was more than worth what I got it for, just wish that the later stages weren't so focused on pushing you towards playing online. The last boss was also a hell hole that I ended up having to replay again and use a cheese strat just to get past it's bullshit.



Game #34 - Dungeon Travelers 2 - 9/4/15 (50 hours)
Despite the boatload of fanservice, this was actually a really good dungeon crawler. The combat takes some thought later into the game and there's a lot of uniqueness to each of the classes, which only get better as you get into the advanced classes. The story is also the most cliché thing ever when it comes to anime type stories. Honestly I had originally only taken noticed to this because of the fanservice (which didn't exactly take away from the game in the end), but as I looked at different videos and reviews for it, I started to want it because of the gameplay aspect and hearing that it had some difficulty to it (which it did). After spending so long beating the main story though, it's time for a break for other games, before I go back in for post game.



Game #35 - Diablo 3 - 9/12/15 (30+ hours)
This game went from a terrible loot grind for a few extra pennies, to something that I believe almost rivals D2 in terms of replayability. The story sucks compared to D2 but the loot grind just keeps getting better with each new patch. Looking forward to what they have planned for the next expac.



Game #36 - Danganronpa - 9/16/15 (22 hours)
This game had me hooked within the first hour of starting it. I liked the school setting and the majority of the characters along with the entire premise being a huge murder mystery. Most of the killings that I thought would have been obvious who the killer was, ended up always surprising me when things weren't that obvious. I ended up being spoiled on who the mastermind behind it all was about halfway through the game, but in the end I don't feel like it ruined anything, I actually really enjoyed the final hour of it even though the reveal was obvious.



Game #37 - Demon Gaze [/B ]- 9/29/15 (50 hours)
For the first 2/3rds or so of this I honestly felt like I couldn't stop comparing it to DT and it's gameplay. This wasn't bad exactly, just it left a lot to be desired when it came to how battles played out. The last third actually added some amount of strategy to things and required you to plan battles for a few turns before hitting triangle to just auto everything until something bad happens. I actually ended up platinuming this because there wasn't all that much left after the final boss.

Games #38 - 40 Super Mario Bros 1 - 3 - 9/30/15 (2-4 hours each)
After more than 15 years of not finishing any of the starting games, I went back and got it done. I may have used a few cheap live gaining strats, but I went through each game without the use of warp pipes or flutes. SMB 1 took the least amount of time since I had played the majority of it many times before, just had issues once I hit the end of W8-2/3. The other 2 games...took a few retries since 2 (Lost Levels) I had little experience with and then 3 kept getting me on World 8.

Game #41 - Disgaea 3 - 10/10/15 (35 hours)
It took me a while to get back in the swing of things with this one. It wasn't that the game was bad, since it played just like the rest only better, just the characters were kinda ehh compared to the past 2 entries. At some point I'll probably go back and try as much post game content as I can, but for now just finishing the game was enough to scratch that itch for a little while.

Game #42 - Terraria - 10/12/15 (10+ hours)
Got back into this with the latest patch a few months ago and have been playing it off and on. Noticing that the harder difficulties definitely do not hold your hand when it comes to being a loner. I've been playing it on expert and slowly been making my way down to hell, while making sure that I can actually take a few hits from things, which is much harder than it used to be.

Game #43 - Danganronpa 2 - 10/29/15 (25 hours)
If it weren't for the villain I'd probably say this was better than the first as far as story goes, but using the same one again kinda took away from the mystery. The characters were great and some of the new systems weren't too bad, even though I actually had to tone down the difficulty just to not take forever on the 2nd half. Overall I thought it was still a very enjoyable game and I look forward to where they bring the series with #3.

Game #44 - Trails in the Sky SC - 11/6/15 (55 hours)
I may not have waited as long as others to be able to play this, but the wait was still well worth it in the end. It met my expectations and got me interested in the sequel, even if we were to never get it. It may have been cliché as hell near the end, but the character development more than made up for it's slight faults. I can safely consider this (combined with FC) to be right near the top of my favorite games of all time and I look forward to continuing on with the series if it's even half as good as FC/SC turned out to be.

Game #45 - Firefly Diary - 11/10/15 (8 hours)
This ended up being significantly shorter than what I was expecting based on reviews. The gameplay took some getting used to and I can't even imagine using touch controls after using the stick. As far as story goes, it was a little hard to follow exactly what they were wanting to show considering there was no text and the events, while dark in tone, didn't exactly make it clear what happened. I still enjoyed it in the end, just wish it had been longer.

Game #46 - Undertale - 11/14/15 (10 hours)
With all it's humor and dark undertones, this was very EarthBound like. I enjoyed the characters and just how much it tried to capture the Mother series. The characters were very endearing and full of personality, making a genocide run hard to do after finishing the True ending. The music was also great and had some strong snes vibes to it, probably tied with SC for my soundtrack of the year. For now I ended up just finishing it with a true ending run and may go back for another ending later.

Game #47 - 49 - Xenosaga Ep 1 - 3 - 11/16/15 - 12/1/15 (18-22 hours each)
Ep 1
This game has not aged nearly as well as the others in terms of looks. Some of the characters feel like they have some kind of identity disorder where they are completely different between the 1st and the remaining 2. Honestly glad they scaled the voice acting up when it came to 2 and 3 because some of the voices in this were just...ehh. The music, while fitting the general feel of the game, just did not compare to the others either. Mitsuda is a great composer, but this just felt like it lacked something compared to his other hits. For the first game in the series it wasn't bad, it's just really easy to tell where things could have gone better.

Ep 2
If it weren't for me actually liking Jr and Momo, this wouldn't have much going for it other than the music, which I feel Yuki Kajiura does a much better job on than Mitsuda. I liked that they tried to give some of the characters some development, but I didn't like that the story progression suffered because of it. For the first half of the game the story barely crawls forward and they end up showing you a 2min montage of what could potentially have been 4-5 extra hours of story, because they felt the need to put some amount of story in this. The potential was there for the game's story, I just wish that all that potential wasn't only in said 2min scene.

Ep 3
After the last 2 I honestly wasn't expecting this to hold up as well as it used to, glad I was wrong. Going through this series again I can definitely say that 3 was always the highlight of the series to me. Very few soundtracks have come close to rivaling what this had put into it, just as few games have evoked the kind of emotion the ending to this has. It definitely has it's flaws, most of which have to do with skipping ahead the year and not explaining much, but it still felt like it was held together well. In the end I'm just glad that we got what we did and that real effort was put into 3, I just wish there was some way for the series to continue.

Game #50 - Mystic Quest - 12/4/15 (11 hours)
The fond memories I had of this may be mostly nostalgia at this point, but I've played much worse over the years. The music is by far the highlight of the game, which has some of the best Snes boss themes I've heard. The battles are pretty easily cheesed other than some rng random fights where you get petrified before you can even make your turn, things only get easier because of infinitely respawning chests. Probably the last time this will see a playthrough, but after 5x, it had a good run.

Game #51 - Guild Wars 2 - 12/9/15 (20+ hours)
As something I can pick up and derp around in for an hour at a time, mainly joining trains, it's not that terrible for solo play. My main faults lie with any kind of group content and the level sync, making most content a chore to even attempt to solo. I like the vanity system and liked certain events over the past few years, but for a solo player, the game just doesn't offer much compared to other mmos.

Game #52 - LoZ: Link to the Past - 12/15/15 (10 hours)
This is like the 10th time I've played through this and it still hasn't aged poorly. The game may have lost it's challenge long ago, but it's still one of the best Zelda games out there. The dungeons are some of the best out there and it has some of the most memorable music in the series.

#39 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker



I did a thread talking about how i loved this game playing through it again, despite hating it so much when i first picked it up, but i'll say again: this game is freaking cool. Has its share of problems, boss fights suck, torture mission is a pain in the ass, etc etc, but everything else shines, especially the story, that i surprisingly liked much more now. So, if you're thinking on skipping this one in favor of TPP, think again, you may be missing a really nice experience.

#40 Klonoa: Door to Phantomile



Best thing of the 52 games in a year challenge is that i end up finding some really cool games deep inside my backlog, and this is one of them. Duuuude this game is rad ! I really loved it, the beautiful artstyle, the really fun and creative gameplay (though some section can be a pain in the ass tbh), amazing OST, all these aspects made it one of the best 5th gen i've played, really worth every penny.

#41 Katamari Damacy



Its pretty hard to describe this game, because its so weird and unique that it has to be played to one fully understand it. The premise is: stars are gone, so you, as the prince of the universe, has to roll a ball through different locations in the world and get it as big as possible so it can transform into a star. Pretty weird, but it manages to be one of the must fun, interesting and well written games i've played, loved it.

#42 Grow Home



Pretty interesting game, and one of the most beautiful ones i've played this year. Thought the controls were pretty awful at first, but after some time i got used to it and really start digging it, the physics are really cool to toy with. Wish it was longer, but for what it was, and principally because i picked up for free, totally worth it.

Update :

Game #17: Rocket League

Rating: ★★★★☆ - Platform: PS4 - Developer: Psyonix
So Much Fun ! Probably one of my favorite online multiplayer game of all times and a good contender for my game of the year 2015. The concept is fantastic and matches get crazier and crazier as you learn the skills and level up with other players. The kind of game you start telling yourself "only a couple games" and end up playing for 2, 3 or 4 hours.


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#10 - Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DSiWare on 3DS) (05:42:17 in-game time) - Did a second playthrough, this time on my New 3DSXL. Not a 100% run but I did beat the final boss and reached the credits.

Original Post.

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#43: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES - 63.5 hours ★★★★
The game finally gets rolling after about 20 hours and eventually reaches the highs of Persona 4. Mitsuru might be my favorite Persona character (strong presence in every scene; often felt like she was the main character), and Maya is by far my favorite social link (so entertaining throughout and a great payoff at the end of the game). Poor initial pacing, Tartarus' repetitiveness, and lack of polish prevented this from being as enjoyable as P4G for me.

#44: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - 4.5 hours ★★★
Replayed this in preparation for The Phantom Pain, getting all 19 transferable recruits. Despite significant improvements to MGS's gameplay, I didn't find it to be all that impressive.

Game 34: Mortal Kombay X
Steam, PC 12 hours
Pretty fun game, as inferior to good fighters as it ever was and not very pretty. It's fucking ugly as shit actually but I dig it. The krypt is fucking annoying as shit as well.

Another two games I finished in August, it's been a very busy gaming month for me!

Game 33: Outland - 2,5/5 - 12:48 hours (21/08/15)

Completed the story, found all helms, vases and upgrades. The game tries to mash-up Ikaruga's good/bad projectiles gimmick with Metroid's backtracking-based game progression, but if fails on both fronts. First problem is the art-style, which is very nice and different at first, but simply doesn't evolve at all later on: if you show me a pic of a random area from the game, it'd be hard for me to say to which main area it belongs to. That's a problem for the backtracking part of the game: you have a new power yet you have no clue where are the places you have to use it in; probably the developers noticed too, that's why they created detailed maps and a guiding light that you just have to constantly follow, wich defeats the whole purpose of the Metroidvania stuff. As for the dual powers mechanic, it's severely underdeveloped, it basically revolves around the game throwing growingly complex projectiles patterns at you, there's no health absorption from your color's projectiles and no other relevant use of the mechanic. The combat is pretty basic and clunky as well, but it gets a few more options down the road. All in all, it's an average game through the end, lacking any surprises.

This game is:

+

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Game 34: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - 3,5/5 - 17:47 hours (22/08/15)

Completed Aqua's story and started Terra's, I'm kinda burned out on the game right now, so I'll probably replay it with Terra and Ventus later on. I'm not completely sold on the "triple character" approach, its nice to see new areas of the world, new bits of the story, new characters in each character's journey, but redoing every challenge and minigame, starting anew with the commands, treasures and stickers isn't the most fun thing ever. The best approach in my opinion would've been to make just one file where you can switch between characters at will, and have a few things in common (like commands). Structure aside, the combat is a step forward coming from KKHII's mash-fest, still not up to par with the first game though: it reminds me of CoM's deck system; same in regards to exploration and puzzles, a middle ground between KHII's corridors and KH's open ended areas. The plot is weak, at least Aqua's story is; there's still a great confusion, unexplained stuff and very little meaningful content to reflect upon, the choice of worlds rather boring, yet the game is enjoyable, mostly thanks to the fact it's made of bite-sized sections (perfect for a handheld game) and to the commands and combat system.

This game is:

+

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Game #54: Grand Theft Auto III: 21 hours

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Finally got around to playing this and while it definitely shows its age I had fun with it. The beginning and ending are pretty rough, especially the difficulty and requirements for some of the last missions, but overall it hasn't aged quite as badly as it originally seemed (though it is pretty bad in parts).

There's a lot not to like about it though. There's a huge difficulty spike in the last part, the combat sucks, what little story there is is a little all over the place, you have to grind to access the final mission, and some areas of the map become nigh-inaccessible because the streets are lined with goons that can blow up a car in under a second. Also this seems to be only a problem with the PC version, but the car physics don't handle jerky digital inputs very well so it can be a bit of a pain to control at times.

The soundtrack (and especially Flashback FM) is amazing though and overall I enjoyed myself. I'm looking forward to getting to the later games from the sub-series one day and seeing how things improved.

Original post

#49 - Professor Layton and the Curious Village



Such a cool story and a cute ending! I tried playing this game back in 2010 but I had little success solving the many puzzles and honestly, I still had a lot of trouble playing it now in 2015, but I managed to finish the game, at least! Great game, I shall play the sequels and prequels when I have the time.

Reila said:

Original post

#49 - Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Such a cool story and a cute ending! I tried playing this game back in 2010 but I had little success solving the many puzzles and honestly, I still had a lot of trouble playing it now in 2015, but I managed to finish the game, at least! Great game, I shall play the sequels and prequels when I have the time.

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Yay! So glad you enjoyed it. I liked the direct sequel the best of the series, but I did play it first. Any favorite or notable puzzles for you?

maxcriden said:

Yay! So glad you enjoyed it. I liked the direct sequel the best of the series, but I did play it first. Any favorite or notable puzzles for you?

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I've only played those two. Diabolical Box's ending had me applauding at the screen for how audaciously stupid it is.

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#40. Strider (PS4) -- September 3 -- 3:50:33 -- ★★★☆☆
As a metroidvania, it's mediocre. The level design is just okay and the world is lifeless and repetitive. There's no sense of exploration because you're always told exactly where to go. There's even a counter on screen that displays how far you are from the next objective, validating your movement 60 times per second. As a straight up action game, it's super fun. Simply moving around the screen is enjoyable, and the combat is incredibly fast and responsive. This is a game almost devoid of recovery frames. If they make another Strider, I hope they go back to the linear roots. I think it would be great.

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#41. Tomb Raider: Legend (PC) -- September 6 -- 5:21:13 -- ★★★☆☆
My second Tomb Raider game after the reboot and the better of the two, I think. The puzzles are satisfying to solve and there are some cool platforming sections. The combat is shallow and silly, but it's pretty fun. There are a couple driving sections that go on for too long. They're like Route 666 in Bayonetta, but less interesting. I guess this game existed in an era where simply riding a motorcycle in an action game was novel enough to be included. Compared to TR2013, the overall vibe of the game is a lot more fun. It also doesn't hold your hand nearly as much. The annoying quicktime events are still there, unfortunately.

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#42. Super Mario World (SNES) -- September 7 -- 4:39:00 -- ★★★★★ -- Replay
Decent game.

Original post


47. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f (Vita)
All songs completed on Normal and Hard without items.

Apparently, this year is the Year of the Rhythm Game as far as me and the Vita are concerned. Digging back into Project Diva f after a year away, a few things are clear. One, it is indeed harder than IA/VT, but not necessarily in a way that's easy to explain. IA/VT derives its difficulty from complex patterns that switch between buttons often. This makes sense; its use of eight separate keys and its method of displaying charts facilitates this. Project Diva, on the other hand, derives its difficulty from timing. It's much less forgiving of sloppiness than IA/VT is, both through stricter windows for Good/Cool hits and by restricting combos to just Good/Cool, as opposed to IA/VT keeping your combo on Safe hits and above. On the hardest songs, Project Diva f also makes things difficult by requiring stamina. Where IA/VT's eight-key setup lends itself to complex chains of keys, Project Diva f's dual-key setup, where the d-pad duplicates the inputs of the face buttons, practically requires you to use both sets of buttons to hit the rapid-fire sequences at the end of the game.

The second thing is that Project Diva f trades a lot more on the charisma of and interplay between its various characters than IA/VT does, which I guess explains why there's a Diva Room and tons of random prop and costume unlockables for said room. I don't really care about spending time with Hatsune Miku in her well-decorated room or rubbing her face to get her to like me, so I prefer IA/VT's straightforward approach of just playing songs.

But there's more than enough room for two vocaloid franchises on the Vita, and I expect most people will prefer Hatsune Miku anyways. I'm a little bit put off by the apparent increase in difficulty in Project Diva f 2nd (Negiposi*Continue and Unhappy Refrain can go fuck themselves, as can the prospect of songs even more difficult than those), but I'd be happy to return to Project Diva in the future.

Once I get through all these OTHER rhythm games coming out this year, anyways.

Games #1-20
Games #21-40

Game 41: Chronology - 4 hours
PC
Simple but charming puzzle platfromer. Nothing amazing and to be honest, nothing that I would buy. I got it in a bundle and tried it out on a whim. Turned out to be a decent time waster.

Dryk said:

I've only played those two. Diabolical Box's ending had me applauding at the screen for how audaciously stupid it is.

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I've only played the first three games, but I did find the ending of each game to be unquestionably audacious, and then however well you like it or how believable you find it in the context of the game, will be kinda polarizing and dependent on the player. They are unusual and bold endings, that's for sure.

maxcriden said:

I've only played the first three games, but I did find the ending of each game to be unquestionably audacious, and then however well you like it or how believable you find it in the context of the game, will be kinda polarizing and dependent on the player. They are unusual and bold endings, that's for sure.

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All three have great endings, I definitely agree. that's a thing I found definitely lacking in The Last Specter and Miracle Mask.

Axass said:

All three have great endings, I definitely agree. that's a thing I found definitely lacking in The Last Specter and Miracle Mask.

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Ah, that is disappointing to hear. At least they chronologically precede the original trilogy, though. So the current ending is still the end, Star Wars-style.

original post



46. Batman: Arkham Origins (PS3);

Picked this up for 6 bucks after all the talk here recently.

This was good, but could have been much better without an overworld and simply offering stage select instead. Of course they wouldn't do it, because a big publisher like WB would fear the product looks inferior or not marketable after Arkham City, but the world map in here really is devoid of anything interesting and just filled with fetch quests like the worst collectathon. Of course no one wants to do that, but other than those, there's really nothing to do on the world map and it looks just as boring.

Outside of that, the actual stages are mostly on par with City in both gameplay variety and art direction, boss fights are definitely better than City, as is story (still cheesy though) and character designs are infinitely better than the Rocksteady games on PS360, except for an awkward Alfred. Investigations are better too, but I feel buttons prompts got more obtrusive with this game.
Also the pacing is a little off. There's a huge amount of time between the first real boss and the next, then they just keep coming. Investigations aren't spread well either and occasionally there could be more options for stealth, although fights are still a fun challenge.



47. Donkey Kong 94 (3DS) - 6 hours;

Good mix of Mario USA, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr., plus puzzle solving. Despite good variety, puzzles often don't feel very smart or complex, so other aspects like the boss fights and straight up DK (Jr.) stages are the highlight. Controls pretty well too.




48. Aura Aura Climber (DS) - 2 hours;

Apparently fantasy climbing games are a thing, I guess this comes close to that Donkey Kong climbing game, which I remember playing a demo or something of. In the end, it's some parcours title with obstacles asking for dexterity. Missions aren't that spectacular, but endless climbing is fun. Although not all that motivating for high scoring, because one round of score attack can take up to 10 minutes+, so starting from scratch on the always identical layout is kinda meh, despite different routes.

Game 38 - Metal Gear Solid - Started 8/21/15, finished 9/4/15 - 11:21

Since I got a copy of The Phantom Pain with my new video card, I decided that I would play through the entire MGS series. Previously, I've only played 1 and 2. Returning to 1 was interesting, given that it's a PSX game and savagely dated, from the control scheme to the graphics. But once I started playing the game, it was easy to get back into its world. Honestly, at this point, what's dated the most is the writing. The frequently cheesy (and very Japanese) way characters would repeat things that other characters had said ("I will do THIS now!" "You will do this now?"), the longwinded speeches and melodrama. Most of this was tolerable until the end, where it got hilariously preachy. I learned from Metal Gear Solid that I need to live life! Very goofy, overall but it's not hard to see how the series became so popular.

Game 39 - Megaman X4 - Started 8/29/15, finished 9/8/15 - 4-5 hours

Continuing my X journey, I'd say that 4 is a step above 3 but still not on the level of the first two. It takes a great deal of influence of Megaman 8 (and appears to run on the same engine). Being a PSX game, this unfortunately means that cheesy voice acting and cutscenes come along for the ride. Do yourself a favor and skip everything relating to the story, which is terrible. Not a big fan of the music either, which ups the synth elements but at the cost of good tunes. Fortunately, the game remains reliably fun in the grand X tradition, with decent level and boss design. The final boss in particular took up at least two hours of this run, as he's an asshole. Not sure if I'll continue with the series (as I know it gets bad) or shift my attention to the Zero games.

Triggerhappytel said:

Games 27 through 34 (updated)

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34: Another World (Vita) - 6th September - approx. 60 minutes, 100% trophy completion
I have mixed feelings over this game; I think the core tenets of the gameplay are really solid, but much of the structure over the top is kinda poor, and far too oblique. But it does convey a sense of an alien world really well and I love the minimal storytelling and presentation. It's also far too punishing at times and I found the checkpointing frustrating and spotty, often putting me a couple of areas back from where I'd died. 7/10

Been a few months since my last update, up to 60 now
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Game 53: Zero Escape Vol.1: 9 hours, 9 persons, 9 doors (Replay)
Playtime: 30:41
Start/Finish: July 5th, 2015 - July 21st, 2015
// Replayed this because of Zero Escape 3 hype. Never got all the endings my first time playing it, I did this time. Amazing game, has one of my favorite gaming moments ever now.
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Game 54: Rocket League
Playtime: 19 hours (100% )
Start/Finish: July 17th - July 25th, 2015
// First game I played on my PS4, thanks PS+. Really addicting and I don't even like soccer that much. Ended up getting the platinum.
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Game 55: World End Economica Episode 2
Playtime: 9:00
Start/Finish: July 24th, 2015 - July 25th, 2015
// Been waiting a while for this. Was quite disappointing, shorter than the first one and not much happened really.. It did set up the 3rd episode quite well though. Will probably have to wait another year to play it though..
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Game 56: Zero Escape Vol. 2: Virtue's Last Reward (Replay)
Playtime: 39:40
Start/Finish: July 22nd, 2015 - July 31st, 2015
// Replayed this since I had played it after only getting like one bad ending from 999. Everything makes much more sense now. Can't wait for ZE3.
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Game 57: Danganronpa 2 (Replay)
Playtime: 25:00 (100% )
Start/Finish: July 31st, 2015 - August 6th, 2015
// Another replay, was mostly going for trophies but it was fun reliving some of the best moments. This game has one of the best ending sequences ever.
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Game 58: Tales of Graces f
Playtime: 35:55
Start/Finish: July 12th, 2015 - August 8th, 2015
// How many Tales games have I played up til now? I lost count already.. This one wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Best combat in the series for sure.
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Game 59: Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Playtime: 70:00
Start/Finish: August 8th, 2015 - August 24th, 2015
// Got addicted to this for the majority of August, tons of playthroughs done. The souls series just became one of my favorites.
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Game 60: Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Playtime: 19:20
Start/Finish: September 1st, 2015 - September 6th, 2015
// Not as good as the other two games but I enjoyed it in the end. Especially considering the production values.. so much voice acting and tons of animated cutscenes. Hope DR3 gets similar treatment.

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Game #55: Puzzle & Dragons Z: 113.7 hours

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I've never played the mobile game before, but judging from this the concept is great. It's a bit grindy though, especially when it comes to the rare eggs you need to get from the Gatchapon.

There's a ton of content too, about 150 monsters to acquire and 12 worlds of dungeons (6 of which make up an insanely huge post-game).

Original Post

16 - Fez (PC) - 10/09/15 (Story: 8 hours)
This is a really good indie game, with an amazing visuals and really well thought levels. At first just seems another platform game, then changes to a puzzle game and finally an experience.
I really will recommend this game to everybody.

17 - Pixel Dungeon (Android) - 10/09/15 (More than 10 hours)
This is another great indie game. Pixel Dungeon is a game that perfectly fits with the mobile platform, easy to play a little and you can close the application suddenly that the game will restart at where you were. But at the same time is a complex and hard game. For people who like dungeon crawlers and have mobile phone (the entire planet?).

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=150899273&postcount=983

Mobile only update, just playing Neverwinter otherwise.

Fat Cats and Mice Mobile 2 hours
Fun little game, I play it when I am trying to kill a few minutes.

Fallout Shelter Mobile 5 hours
Has a nasty bug, that drains resources on the android version. I just got fed up on my third Vault and uninstalled the game

Barcode Knight Mobile 3 Hours
Fun little RPG with a neat gimmick. I play it on road trips or I need to kill more than a minutes and I am out somewhere.

22/52

41. Code Name S.T.E.A.M.
[Finished 11/09/15]
My oh my, Code Name STEAM is shocking to me in so many ways, but I think most of all in the respect that I love it so much. Yes it has flaws, which are many and glaring, but underneath that rough exterior shines a diamond of a video game with some of the most satisfying and tense moment to moment gameplay I've had recently. I could complain about the times when I got shot and totally shouldn't have, the moments where I totally hit a shot and it didn't land and the moments where the respawning enemies made me want to snap the cartridge in half. However, when you are down to your last character with hardly any life remaining and you make a finally dash for the goal without being spotted and complete the map there is hardly any feeling better in video games. This is a strategy game where you don't have all the information and as a result it makes it thrilling, surprising and though sometimes frustrating, always tense. The variety in characters is fantastic with each new addition providing something completely new and different. The map designs are masterful, providing corners, covers and checkpoints exactly where you need them to be, and the objectives, though usually similar, change things up often enough to keep you engaged and wanting to continue playing. And that in itself might be the biggest praise I could give this game, I simply did not want to stop. I would start a chapter and not pull myself away until I had finished every mission contained within it. That is when you know a game has grabbed you.

I have run out of characters in my original post. First post is now a list, this post is games 1-25, next post will be 26-?.
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Games 1 - 25
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Game #1: Pro-Evolution Soccer 2014 - Konami
Format: PS3
Completion State: All game and training modes complete, 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 1/Jan/2015 (mostly completed in 2014)

I haven't played a football game since a FIFA iteration back on the N64 so when this came to PS+ I was keen to try it and ended up largely enjoying my time with it.

It was an initial annoyance having to load data files into the game in order to ensure team and player names were correct but once this was done the game-play itself was OK. All the standard league and cup formats were present, the players controlled pretty well (I had some frustrations around using the more advanced trick techniques but that is probably more my poor co-ordination rather than a failing of the game) and the opposition AI was relatively smart at higher difficulty levels.

The only thing I'd be keen to see added were more stadium variety and slightly more advanced management tools but broadly I think the game strikes the right balance to allow both casual and advanced football fans to play.



Game #2: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin - IO Interactive / Eidos Interactive
Format: PS3
Completion State: All levels complete at professional difficulty with a silent assassin rating, all weapons collected, 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 10/Jan/2015

It's a bloody good game still, what more is there to be said?

The visuals are obviously pretty basic but the core hitman gameplay mechanics have aged pretty well. One or two of the button mappings are questionable (a sloppy trigger to run.. really?) but there is nothing here that truly detracts from the game. Level design is great (though perhaps a little sparse compared to more modern games) and, like a Hitman game should, allows for many many ways to complete a mission.



Game #3: Game Dev Story - Kairosoft
Format: Android
Completion State: Completed the main 20 year period of the game three times ending with a significant ($200+ million) cash reserve in two out of three play throughs.
Completion Date: 17/Jan/2015

A fun but ultimately unrewarding mobile game, after a couple of play throughs you have really seen it all. Pretty standard Kairosoft stuff, enjoyable enough for what it is. It could really be improved significantly in terms of replayability with some fairly minor functionality and stat tracking additions that really wouldn't confuse the user or dilute the core proposition.



Game #4: Hitman: Contracts - IO Interactive
Format: PS3
Completion State: All levels complete at professional difficulty with a silent assassin rating, all weapons collected, 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 18/Jan/2015

Another classic Hitman game. Visually a significant step forward from Hitman 2 and the complexity of the level designs is the same. More great missions and a whole heap of ways to complete them, what more can you ask for from a Hitman game?
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Game #5 Alien: Isolation - The Creative Assembly/Sega
Format: X360
Completion State: Completed the story on Normal as a bit of a group play through with some friends.
Completion Date: 05/Feb/2015

We have been getting together every couple of weeks to play through this pass the controller style. It's been a really good way of playing. With the lights down low and the sound up high it has a lot of great tension.

The story is pretty good as well, I get the impression that some people think it went on for too long but I think (and the people I played with seem to agree) that it was just about perfect with enough going on throughout to keep it interesting whilst still sticking very much to the flavour of the film upon which it is based. The actual finale is a little disappointing mechanically but overall the whole thing is very slickly done.

I am going to call this completed but I suspect I will go back and buy it to replay alone on PS4.



Game #6: Hitman: Blood Money - IO Interactive
Format: PS3
Completion State: All missions plus Requiem completed on Pro with Silent Assassin ratings where relevant. Extra trophies collected for platinum.
Completion Date: 07/Feb/2015

Such a great game still.

The additional weapon upgrades and mission requirements are great and add a lot to the Hitman series without taking away the purity of the previous games. Some of the disguises are a little OP compared to previous games but there is still a great challenge to be found in identifying and perfecting a perfect route through each mission for the SA rating. I also really like the newspaper articles after completing a level. They add a lot despite being so simple. The story, like all Hitman games, is a thin excuse for the locales used but I have to admit, I am still a little pissed at Diana...



Game #7: 80 Days - Inkle
Format: Android
Completion State: Many journeys complete, some successfully, others not so. Most/all cities explored/visited.
Completion Date: 23/Feb/2015

Thanks to StingX2 who mentioned this earlier in the thread, I really enjoyed this fun and frivolous interactive fiction. Phileas surely is an enigmatic man.

There are a few issues with the UI being a little obtuse and fiddly on a small touch screen device at times but overall this is a fun mobile game with plenty of replayability, at least until you have visited each city once and have a general flavour of the routes and map .

My only issue with it beyond the UI is that it's not really a game that is best enjoyed in very short bursts but that's more a comment on how I view mobile gaming rather than the game itself.

On mobile devices I tend to play stuff that lets me dip in for five minutes or so but 80 days needs more than that to really feel involved in the journey. It is, very appropriately, best for playing on a flight or a long train trip rather than whilst waiting for the bus.



Game #8: Hitman: Absolution - IO Interactive/Square Enix
Format: PS3
Completion State: Completed on expert and 100% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 25/Feb/2015

Let's get this out of the way right at the start, Hitman: Absolution is not a Hitman game in the same vein as those that prelude it, that does not however make it an inherently bad game.

In fact, if it weren't branded as a Hitman game it would be easy to consider it a really rather good game. It looks nice, the controls are great and where the levels open up it really is great. It IS annoying though that you are more often stuck on a far more linear path than you would usually expect when playing as Agent 47. To be fair though, even these linear section allow for a variety of styles of play and the slightly odd instinct system isn't as brolen as is often cited. Even though you can't get a silent assasin rating for every level, in almost all cases you CAN get through them all without killing any non target NPC.

Contracts mode is an interesting and enjoyable addition as well and I hope, whilst drawing more from Blood Money for the single player, the next iteration also strives to extend the depth of Contracts mode for both creators and players.
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Game #9: Infamous First Light - Sucker Punch Productions/Sony
Format: PS4
Completion State: Story and side missions complete. A bit of the survival/rescure arena mode played.
Completion Date: 07/Mar/2015

A fun little game. I have never played much of an infamous game as though I have always enjoyed the controls and traversal mechanisms, the world has just never grabbed me. The same is broadly true here. Fetch is enjoyable to play, the neon powers and traversal are great, the story is OK for what it is, the side activities are fun...but the city is just a little dull. Perhaps this is better with the larger area availabe in the main game but I have not tried it to tell.

The arena modes are also surprisingly fun for me. Survival/horde type modes tend to be pretty hit and miss for me but here in this game it is definitely more hit than it is miss. That said, I'd enjoy it more with a co-op buddy as after a few times solo it can quickly begin to feel repetitive.



Game #10: Driveclub - Evolution Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: All non-DLC tours completed 100%, platinum trophy.
Completion Date: 21/Mar/2015

My experiences with the game have been so varying it's really difficult for me to even conclusively say whether I actually like or dislike the game overall. To summarise why I feel either way in a single paragraph fairly is pretty much impossible. The best I can get to is that whilst the highs in Driveclub are superb there are just too many under-cooked elements that detract or distract from those high points and those elements make playing the game at any length a remarkably frustrating experience. Hopefully this is a solid foundation for a sequel.

For a fuller post on this please see: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=157274806&postcount=13032



Game #11: Thomas Was Alone - Mike Bithell / Curve Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Story mode completed twice (previously collected all trophies on PS3)
Completion Date: 26/Mar/2015

Technically this is a replay as I have already completed the PS3 version but I finished the PS4 version recently and really enjoyed it again, so I am adding it despite the trophies between all PS* versions being shared.

It's a short and relatively simple little romp with little graphical flair but the charm, personality and concept more than make up for it. The story though ultimately nonsensical is fun and gives a remarkable amount of personality to your characters despite them being nothing more than differently shaped and coloured rectangles. I bonded with Thomas and his little crew of disparate companions mostly I think because of the dulcet tones of Danny Wallace and the charm of the writing.

The levels and physics are all very simple but this doesn't detract from what is ultimately a very mellow and enjoyable experience.

It's also worth doing a second play through with the developers comments as it includes some interesting comments on the game and, well, they just seem like really nice folk.
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Game #12: The Room - Fireproof Games
Format: Android
Completion State: All four chapters + the Epilogue completed
Completion Date: 20/Apr/2015

Really good puzzle game making proper use of the touch screen devices it is made for. There are one or two control issues (mostly with zooming out) but these are rarely intrusive.

The game really suits the mobile format as well. you can drop in and out at will as long as you haven't left it so long you can't remember what you did last and your progress is always saved.

All in all well worth a play through if you like this kind of tactile, observation puzzle game and I'm looking forward to trying the sequel at some point in the future.
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Game #13: Demon's Souls - FROM Software
Format: PS3
Completion State: All mandatory and optional Demons beaten, all black and white world and character tendency events completed, good and bad endings seen. 97% trophy completion - I'm not grinding for Bladestone.
Completion Date: 22/May/2015

Great game. I'd heard a lot of good things about this game but no real details so I went in relatively blind and now I simply regret not playing it earlier! Moment to moment gameplay, level design, perfectly weighted challenge, impressive atmosphere, pretty much all of it was perfectly done. My only real criticisms are the somewhat obfuscated stats and the huge frame rate issues when smashing environmental objects but beyond that all other complaints would be nit-picking (don't get me started on Bladestone).



Game #14: Never Alone / Kisima Inŋitchuŋa - Upper One Games
Format: PS4
Completion State: 100% trophy completion
Completion Date: 23/May/2015

Very average gameplay and level design perked up by an interesting backstory and some good little snippets into Iñupiaq life. It's never going to stand out on the strengths of the platforming and mechanics but it is well worth a playthrough just for the subject matter. Given the inclusion of the cultural insights it would have been nie if these were a little longer, too many were finished just as they were getting started.



Game #15: Game Dev Tycoon - Greenheart Games
Format: Steam
Completion State: Played through several complete cycles, 55% steam achievements
Completion Date: 31/May/2015

For a first game, simply outstanding. It has a few problems and could do with being deeper but for what it does it does it pretty well. No complaints from me. Well done Greenheart games.
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Game #16: Grand Theft Auto V - R* North/R*
Format: PS4
Completion State: All 100% requirements + a few others complete, platinum trophy.
Completion Date: 14/June/2015

Second time through (PS3 platinum as well) and still just as good. Yes, the story, characters and pace are far from perfect, it's humour is fairly base and the gun-play isn't as good as Max Payne 3 but the scale, scope and setting are un-matched.

I could drive around SA online or offline all day long and not get bored. Great game. Really great game.



Game #17: Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition - Housemarque/Climax Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Completed on Normal (Mediocrity...bah!), 32% trophy completion.
Completion Date: 20/June/2015

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. This isn't my usual kind of game but broadly I found normal to be challenging enough without being frustrating except in one area where I had to retry one too many times (the end of Graveyard). Whilst not being graphically advanced the overall style is nice and everything is very cohesive and appropriately dark. The story was presented well and and I quite enjoyed the downbeat female protag VA. I'll probably go back and play some of the endless mode at some point as well as this seems to be set out a little differently to the normal horde modes in the way you choose different routes and have to balance etting weapons and supplies wih getting the credits to upgrade them to be worthwhile. Overall, a good fun top down shooter, simple but interesting.



Game #18: Pure Pool - VooFoo Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Amateur 8 ball championship completed. A few online games played. A lot of local co-op played. 41% trophy completion.
Completion Date: n/a, put down rather than completed and I will iikely continue to play local games now and then.

A fun local pool game. Single player is pretty challenging but I love playing this as a slow paced local versus game. Online is OK and there's some really good players but there is nothing to stop someone from playing really slowly!

I'm not competent enough at real pool to know if the spin and the like is accurate but for a novice it seemed pretty good. All in all a pretty decent, if basic, pool game.
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JULY COMPLETIONS:



Game #19: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - Kojima Productions/Konami
Format: PS4
Completion State: All missions, side ops and extra ops completed with an S rank, 100% trophy completion;
Completion Date: 10/July/2015

I've never really played a Metal Gear game before but I really enjoyed this and am now tentatively looking forward to trying MGSV:TPP though I'm not sure how representative the prologue is of the main game.

The level is well designed and laid out with plenty of routes in, out and through, just like a good stealth/infiltration mission should. This combined with beautifully fluid character movement makes exploring and experimenting a joy.



Game #20: SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition - Maxis/Electronic Arts
Format: Steam
Completion State: Built several cities, both legit and using cheat codes.
Completion Date: n/a, put down rather than completed and I will likely continue to play now and then.

Still a fantastic city building game, a little dated graphically but it takes nothing from the experience. I still prefer just building the city of my dreams (riskymoney) rather than playing the game itself so the split maps of the Deluxe Edition are a bit annoying but I still had fun and could just about achieve what I wanted to.



Game #21: Thomas Was Alone - Benjamin's Flight - Mike Bithell / Curve Studios
Format: PS4
Completion State: Both DLC levels completed (no new trophies), about one hour of playtime
Completion Date: 26/Jul/2015

Thomas crossed with Flappy Bird. A little slim in content and very slim on challenge but for 79p I'm not going to complain.

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AUGUST COMPLETIONS:

Game #22: Rocket League - Psyonix
Format: PS4
Completion State: Played a bunch of offline and online games, all trophies bar 500km one got.
Completion Date: Last item related trophy received 4/Aug/2015 (will update if I get the 500km one)

Enjoyable multiplayer fun on and offline. Simple to play, hard to master. No frills just good old fashioned fun.

I can totally see why it is has become such a left field hit and I enjoy it a lot when I'm in the right mood but it hasn't captivated me quite like it has many, a couple of games always makes me laugh but that is all I can manage before I want to play something else. That said I definitely see me continuing to play with friends now and then.

Game #23: flOw - Thatgamecompany / SuperVillain Studio
Format: PS4
Completion State: Campaign complete with all available creatures (68% trophy completion)
Completion Date: 6/Aug/2015

Fun enough for what it is, short and simple but fairly enjoyable.

Game #24: The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow / SCE Santa Monica
Format: PS4
Completion State: Story complete, all balloons collected (61% trophy completion).
Completion Date: 6/Aug/2015

Interesting but not always fun experience. I like some elements and generally think it's a very thoughtful game with some interesting parts but they just don't quite come together. I have a few problems with the pace and as someone with colour perception and some sight difficulties at times it is not an comfortable game to play.

There are also one of two changes to the availability of the additional toys from the previous gen versions that I think make it less fun (having to finish the game to get the balloon radar/having to get all of the balloons to get two of the other toys).

Yeah, interesting.

Game #25: Monopoly - Electronic Arts
Format: Android
Completion State: Played some local multiplayer on long train rides and a lot of single player in my lunch breaks.
Completion Date: N/A - Put down rather than "completed"

Classic multiplayer gaming.

Clean and clear presentation, a little slow to load but generally a pretty faithful recreation of the board game. The inclusion of tabletop mode is great for dull train and plane rides when you're with some board game enjoying friends/colleagues. I think I will continue to play this on and off when an appropriate moment arises (planes / trains mostly) but will note it down as complete as I have had way more than 10 hours out of it on a variety of trips over the summer.

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SEPTEMBER COMPLETIONS:

Game #26: Crayon Physics Deluxe - Petri Purho
Format: Android & Windows / Steam
Completion State: Completed all islands with a total of 93 stars. 5ish hours.
Completion Date: 12/Sept/2015

Really cool physics game, enjoyed this one a lot. The slick but whimsical presentation diguises some tricky puzzles though you can fairly easily cheese most with just a couple of simple techniques if you want to. I have no idea how to do some with a single object however!

A lot of fun and I think I will revisit this from time to time just to create some more "awesome" solutions.

Game #27: Zen Bound 2 - Secret Exit
Format: Windows / Steam
Completion State: Completed tree one and a selection of shapes from a number of other trees.
Completion Date: 13/Sept/2015

Though I like the idea, execution and presentation of Zenbound, it just gets repetitive too quickly. Ultimately the mechanics are limited to either wrapping or connecting pins on increasingly complex (but necessarily inherently more interesting) shapes. I enjoyed playing the levels I did play but can't see myself doing all of the many that are included but I can see how some people would enjoy it from start to end.

Bit of an aside but I reckon this kind of puzzle game would work better in VR.
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PLAYING:

Planetside 2 - Daybreak Game Company
Format: PS4
Completion State: Played a bunch of multiplayer.

Red Dead Redemption - R* San Diego
Format: PS3
Completion State: Ridden some horses and chased some cows. Killed some bad guys. Slow start.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War - Ubisoft
Format: PS4
Completion State: Played through the first couple of levels.

Cogs - Lazy 8 Studios
Format: Windows / Steam
Completion State: First few puzzles done.

NEO Scavenger - Blue Bottle Games
Format: PC (Linux and Windows dependent on location)
Completion State: A continued slow burner. Put it this way, I am surviving... just.
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INSTALLED:

Hohokum - Honeyslug / Sony Santa Monica / Sony
Format: PS4
Completion State: Installed.

Splice - Cipher Prime
Format: Windows / Steam
Completion State: Installed.

Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP - Capybara Games / Superbrothers
Format: Android & Windows / Steam
Completion State: Installed.

Never Alone - Foxtales - Upper One Games
Format: PS4
Completion State: Installed.