Criteria: Standard game completion
Time played: 3 hours
At this point, this game is making a case as one of my favourites for this year. A lot of important revelations took place in this episode, and its got me pretty anxious to see what happens in the finale. Out of all the episodes so far this one definitely had the most depressing tone overall (especially the beginning of the episode). Who knew that even with the power to rewind time, everything could still go so horribly and consistently wrong.
I beat Super Time Force on PSN last weekend, then set a goal I don't do very often: reach platinum. I got the platinum trophy today after another 8-10 hours of playtime. It's my 4th time hitting that mark, with the others being Rocket League, Resogun, and Trine 2.
Platinums really require a certain type of person to achieve. I love exploring game worlds and reach the ending on the majority that I play, but it's tough to stick through a platinum because of the extra time commitment that usually feels like busy work. I'm glad I did this one, but I dont think I have the stamina to grind a game like that much more if I've seen all I want to see. Unless it's an easy one like Rocket League that you reach in the normal course of play, I'm not sure I'll try to do that again.
Hats off to those of you that consistently hit platinum; you are more patient than I am!
Completing this only a day after beating Halo 4 really puts into perspective how much of a step up Halo 5 is. There are countless improvements across the board. The format of the story is refreshing (even if the story itself is average), and the general presentation is magnificent. Having a squad at all times to revive you when you get caught out, or order to take out a priority target while you go looking for more ammo, is truly a godsend. You no longer feel handicapped by playing solo. The scale of the levels is something else, too, with great verticality. Now that you can sprint and vault, there's plenty of ways to climb to higher ground if you don't want to play about down below. Everything's just faster and more immediate in general, and I found myself in a kind of "rush mode" throughout, as opposed to the slow, methodical clearing of areas in the past titles. As you progress through, every environment feels unique, with nary a identikit corridor in sight. Even tiny little features, like the visual feedback given by the crosshairs on hits or kills, just shows what a labour of love this has been for 343. People might criticize it for changing too much, for feeling too much like Halo diluted by modern FPS gameplay. But I thought it was one of the most consistently fun shooters in years. Brilliant stuff, and in my opinion, the best Halo game ever. If you like Halo 3, you'll like this
(never thought I'd break embargo with one of these)
Game 50: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - 35 hours
3DS
I got this via the Ambassador program and thought to myself that I have to beat it at some point. That's why I decided early this month that I would have it done by the end of October. I'm not a super huge fan of the characters or the story, but I like the maps and combat.
Game 24 : Outlast : Whistleblower - 3 Hours - 10/25/15
The DLC for Outlast. Less story driven as the first one but as scary. Your heart will jump when you hear some of the enemies approcaching and run after you. Short and provide some closure to the first story. 4/5
Game 25 : Hell Yeah ! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit - 5 Hours - 10/26/15
Go around and kill monsters who have seen you naked! Action Platformer with some puzzle elements. Pretty repetitive and easy. 3/5
Game 26 : Adventures of Pip - 4:15 - 10/28/15
Cute platformer with an interesting transformation mechanic and a lot of hidden treasures and stuff. Highly recommended if you want a cute and short platformer. 4/5
54. Sublevel Zero (PC) Escaped with the Advanced Flux Drive using the Hunter ship.
In hindsight, it feels obvious. The joy of single-player Descent was always about tumbling through space, trying to get a bead on the vicious robots trying to kill you while dodging laser fire and spoofing homing missiles. But the most tense moments--and often the most thrilling ones--were when you were down to a sliver of life, desperately trying to stay alive long enough to find a shield powerup and hoping the robots around the next corner wouldn't flay you alive. Imagine a Descent successor that distilled the single-player campaign down to the moments where your life hangs in the balance, and you have Sublevel Zero.
The biggest thing Sublevel Zero gets right is the feeling of movement. Like the official modernization of the Descent formula, Descent Underground, but unlike so many other six-degrees-of-freedom games, Sublevel Zero nails the sensation of zooming through claustrophobic mine tunnels in a zero-g fighter ship. The second biggest thing Sublevel Zero gets right, though, is in carving out its own unique identity. It's a roguelike, you see, so death is permanent. There's that desperation again, built right into the game design. Randomness is part of Sublevel Zero's DNA as well: all the levels are procedurally generated, and your arsenal of weapons is completely dependent on what you find scattered about and what you can craft. Even the nanocarts you earn at the end of a level are randomized, meaning you can never be quite sure what benefits will be open to you each time.
Because there's so much uncertainty to each run, and because you only have one life to live, improvisation is the name of the game. This helps solve one small issue with Descent's campaigns, which is that sometimes the variety of weapons feels superfluous. The bread and butter weapons like the plasma, quad lasers and vulcan/gauss were often all you needed, leaving the more exotic weapons to collect dust. In Sublevel Zero, sometimes you have no choice but to pick up that Firebolt or those grenades and figure out the best way to use them.
I've played a bunch of roguelikes in my time, but most of them never managed to click with me. Either they felt too much like the product of luck, or they required skills that I didn't really have and didn't feel like training for (hello, every platformer roguelike ever). Sublevel Zero is the first roguelike where I felt like I could reach the end even from the very beginning of the game, once I learned the patterns and remembered how to fly properly. It never once felt unfair, and even when I made dumb mistakes (ask me about my RAGEQUIT achievement) it was easy to start again and hope this run would be the one. More than any other game to date, Sublevel Zero is the inheritor to the Descent legacy. Sigtrap should be proud.
40: Major Mayhem (Android) - 20th October - approx. 4-5 hours
Basically a phone version of Time Crisis, and I have to say this is very enjoyable and a great use of the touch-screen controls. Good humour, nice progression system and great visuals. 7.5/10
41. Dark Souls (PS3) - 25th October - 60 hours
I'm a massive fan of Demon's Souls, but I had mixed feelings on this one - I struggled the whole way through and found it very cheap and punishing in places. I also think the cooperative or competitive multiplayer is much worse than Demon's, and you really have to jump through hoops to get that stuff working this time around. However, there's so much to admire about this game, from the massive seamless world, the varied and generally high-quality boss battles, the interesting and distinct level designs and the mechanics which are simple to learn but complex to master. It's a big game and I think there are quite a few low points (Lost Izalith in particular), but on the whole it's extremely consistent and high quality with terrific level design and amazing art. 8/10
Currently playing: The Walking Dead (PS3), Dragon Quest Heroes (PS4).
Easily my favourite handheld Zelda, and in the running for best in the entire series. For such a unique mechanic, it's amazing how natural merging in and out of walls feels. The level design incorporates it brilliantly. Incidentally, the final wall merge during the typical "save the coolest use of a primary Zelda mechanic for the end of the game" moment is an awesome way to wrap up the adventure. The soundtrack is incredible. It's a good mix of new and old with some of the best arrangements of classic tracks. The dungeons are easy, especially for seasoned Zelda veterans, but they have great flow and some excellent puzzles. I love how they took into account the always visible dungeon map by hiding little rooms that would otherwise be very difficult to find. One of my favourite things about the game - and a fortunate shift for the series - is that it doesn't hold your hand. Dungeons are marked on your map, but getting to them isn't always an easy task, and you can tackle them in any order (at least after the first one). You're left to your own devices to figure out how to progress, and the world is littered with secrets and fun diversions, so there's a great sense of exploration and discovery. A Link Between Worlds is basically a flawless game in my mind and I really hope Zelda Wii U takes cues from it. 8½ hours (replay)
I'd place it in the lower tier of the series, but a "bad" Zelda game is still a good game. I don't like the mandatory fetch quests. After a certain point, I just decided to consult a walkthrough every time I felt even a little lost because I didn't want to waste hours looking for the right NPC to talk to or the right cave to explore. Even if you're lucky enough to know where to go, there's always another step. You'll find the bell and deliver it, but it won't be accepted until you get it polished. Stuff like that. The world itself is pretty fun to navigate though, and that overworld music is hard to beat. I just wish the progression system wasn't so strict. Between the fetch quests, you'll find some solid Zelda dungeons. There are some interesting items and satisfying puzzles. It's impressive how many mechanics they crammed into a two-button game. It's also a pretty difficult game. Some bosses will take a few tries, and that makes them more rewarding to defeat. On the other hand, repeating long sections of dungeons isn't fun. I hope I like Ages more, but I'm expecting about the same. 15 hours
One of the major difference between the two Oracle games is that Seasons is about combat and Ages is about puzzles. I play Zelda games for exploration and puzzles, so I found Ages to be a lot more enjoyable. I think the dungeons are all great (save for one which is a miserable slog). Each one gives you a new item to play with, but you'll need to make use of your full arsenal to solve the many puzzles. There are no one-and-done items like you'll see in some Zelda games. The puzzling extends to the bosses too, and figuring out how to damage them can make for a satisfying moment. Unfortunately, like Seasons, the dungeons are often preceded by some tedious fetch quest or minigame, but they're all pretty straightforward. I never really felt lost like I did in Seasons. So, my thoughts on the two Oracle games are similar: they are lesser Zelda games, but both worth playing. And if you do play one, you should play the other too, because the connectivity between them is pretty cool and it's the only way to see the true final boss. 16 hours
100% completion, minus the one missable item (goddammit). I wouldn't actually recommend going for 100% in Minish Cap. It's very grindy and difficult to track unless you keep a checklist from the start. The game is very short if you don't do the optional stuff, but I think most of it is worth doing. The main sidequest involves collecting medallion halves called kinstones. If you find an NPC with a complementary half, you can fuse the two pieces together to unlock a secret in the world. Sometimes the secret is cool, like a new mini area to explore, and sometimes it isn't, like a treasure chest containing another kinstone, which seems like a pointless cycle. Still, it's a clever way to add a little flavour to backtracking since you'll always have a new thing to check out if you keep up with your fusions. I think the coolest thing in the game is the layered level design that accommodates Link in both his regular and miniature sizes. It's very well done and the miniature pathways blend naturally into the game world. One thing I don't like is that the overworld feels very small and segmented, and there isn't the strong sense of adventure that you would expect from a Zelda game. There's also a little too much handholding. Your partner, Ezlo, will occasionally interrupt gameplay to tell you to do what you were about to do. It only takes a couple seconds, but you might feel a little patronized. Another sour point for me is the soundtrack, which I think may be the weakest in the whole series, but that's just my opinion. The dungeons range from decent to great. Same deal with the bosses. Overall, it's a good Zelda game and therefore, a great game. 20½ hours (replay)
It's one of the best looking games I've ever played, even on medium settings. The gameplay isn't exactly interesting, but it's not really the focus. You'll spend most of your time walking around looking for clues and completing simple puzzles to solve murders. I liked the environmental aspect of the storytelling, but the narrative never really grabbed me. When the story of Ethan and his family kicked in, my interest waned a little bit. It's not that the story itself is bad, but the voice acting and character models aren't great. They especially stand out when compared to the beautiful game world. I do like how the story concludes though, and there were a couple cool moments that impressed me. 3½ hours
Playing through Resident Evil, I was reminded of my first experience with a Souls game (DaS). It started off intimidating and a little confusing, but over the course of the game, I learned the various systems and the correct way to play, and by the end, I felt like a pro. Item management is very important. Everything is limited and finite, including the ink ribbon item that allows you to save your game. As a lot new players probably do, I saved way too often early on and screwed myself over. I can't remember a more tense hour of gameplay than the one I spent clinging to life while progressing with no ink ribbons. Finding a save room at the end of that induced a tangible release of stress. And I have no doubt that that moment was an intentional teaching tool (save wisely!) because the game is amazingly well-designed. To describe the level design, item placement and enemy encounters in a word: meticulous. The way the game world unravels is masterful. I love the puzzles, too. There's something very satisfying about going into your inventory and choosing a specific item to solve a puzzle rather than being automatically prompted to use it. I've really overlooked this series, having only played RE4 previously, so I'm excited to try out the rest, especially REmake. 7 hours
Your enjoyment of Tri Force Heroes will largely depend on who you play with. Achieving total synergy with two other online players is a great feeling. I think it's even better than local multiplayer because the limited communication (8 emotes, no voice chat) adds an extra layer to the puzzle-solving and makes it a little more hectic. You might also run into some bad/incompetent players, but that was rare in my experience. The worst player you can run into, and one of my biggest problems with the game, is the person who already played the level you're on and rushes you through the stage without giving you a chance to solve the puzzles on your own. One guy tried to literally carry me through a level right from the start. Fuck that guy. This is a problem because of how the matchmaking works. You can't select individual levels. You select a world consisting of four levels and then players vote on which one to play. So, you'll be forced to replay levels a lot or quit on your team if you don't want to. The game tries to remedy this with a crafting system. You get a material at the end of each level that can be used to craft outfits which grant different abilities. It's a decent system, but some people (me) will only be interested in playing through each level once. When you do get the level you want, the game is tons of fun, especially when you and your partners are all seeing the puzzles for the first time. The main game never gets super difficult, but each level has three extra challenges that force you to play in a different way and ask for more from your team. There are also some great bosses that will test your coordination and make for some tense moments as your shared health bar dwindles. And the soundtrack is excellent. With a few small tweaks, I think it would be a fantastic game. 14 hours
#13 - Rage of Bahamut (iOS) (Dunno... A couple Hundred Hours?) - This is a TCG with Microtransactions focused on collecting and special events. However, a couple of months ago they decided to end all events so there's very reason to keep playing. I haven't touched the game since the last event, so I'm officially done with it. Glad I also never put a cent in this game.
#14 - The Stanley Parable (Steam) (1:21:00) - Got this per recommendation of GAF, and enjoyed it despite the steep price. Got five different endings, which is probably enough for now.
#15 - The Quiet Collection: Quiet, Please! (Wii U) (1:01:00) - First in a series of four point-and-click style games. Pretty fun, and kinda cute despite being so short.
And finished. Took longer than anticipated but I should be over 100 overall this year and I've been playing a lot of Pinball Arcade lately which is impossible to account for in a list like this so I'm quite satisfied.
Game 51: Spec Ops: The Line (PS3) approx. 8 hours
This game is fucking fantastic. It was so refreshing to play it after not liking New Vegas. This game is how a post apocalyptic desert sin-city is supposed to be portrayed. I was able to take in the scenery and loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute, the controls can be annoyingly clunky at times with run and cover mapped to the same button and melee and vault having the same issue. But as long as you can make it through those parts, the game is incredible.
This is how I expect AAA gaming to be. Great story, fantastic setting, well crafted combat/enemies/weapons, and a cast of NPCs that aren't outright annoying. The story is even cerebral and even though I knew about the whole Heart of Darkness storyline, I didn't expect the ending. Or endings, I should say. This is one of the few games I've beat this year where immediately I had to replay each ending scenario to see how they turn out and I even clicked on DLC and was disappointed to see that it's just multiplayer bullshit. I can't recommend this game enough.
Replayed for the first time on a 3DSXL screen. Didn't bother to get the final level, but all the rest. The last good Mario game that still felt like it was made truly with its hardware in mind, like it should be. 3D effect is mandatory.
Game 43
Minecraft Story Mode episode 2: Some Assembly Required
2 hoursish. PC.
Finished up episode 2 with the kiddo. Very cute and fun, but man this game showed me what a phenomenon Mine craft is at any level. My 11yo played it with me, but my 6 and 3yo and her friend were fixated on it like it was the series finale of Breaking Bad. If MS bank a Mine craft series or movie they will get all of the money.
Well, I've made it and I decided to make #52 my favorite game of all time. I play this game every now and then but never really completing anything, just using it as like a comfort food. This time I did a whole play through in one night and 100%'d it for the first time. The game is still fun but doesn't have the same zing as it did when I was a kid and I was discovering everything for the first time. I also don't remember Kirby's controls being so clunky when there are too many enemies on screen. Also the first few levels are a bore but the last half is still pretty good.
I was happy to 100% it but I also had some sadness because I had never paid attention to the credits before but this time I noticed one of the producers- Sotaru Iwata. I never knew he worked on this game. When he died it didn't really affect me because I haven't been following Nintendo for the past few years and I'm not a fan of Earthbound. But now I do feel some of that connection that I suppose others felt after he died.
I also didn't know there was a second quest. But all it does is make the bosses stronger and gives you only 3 bars of health. Everything else looks the same so I don't think I'll go through it. I used to have the GBA remake and I think I'll buy it again since I looked it up and it's pretty cheap.
I don't know if I'll do the 52 game challenge next year. There were some good and bad things about it. I liked that it got me out of a gaming funk I was in, last year I don't think I completed any games. I was in a bad situation where I hated my job, I got into collecting and suddenly was reading about games more than I was playing them. The 52 game challenge got me off my ass and put some pressure on me. It worked and now I'm back into gaming. But a downside was that the pressure to complete a game a week meant that I passed up on some games in my backlog I wanted to play but didn't because I thought they would eat up too much time and I wouldn't get 52 games in. Now that I'm done I feel relieved and I can get into those games. But a positive to that pressure is that it got me into smaller, shorter indie games that I now have an incredible fascination and appreciation for. That's probably the best thing that happened. I felt very disconnected with modern gaming because I'm not up to date with AAA releases but getting into the indie scene allows me to follow new games again. I'm still hyped for Fallout 4 since I got into the Fallout series this year but I think this is definitely the year I gave up on AAA gaming.
#16 - Project X Zone (3DS) (57:51:36 in-game time) - Whew! I started playing this quite a while back and now finally finished it to set myself up for PXZ2 next year. I enjoyed the game despite all its flows (some stages becoming a drag, plot being all over the place), but the fanservicey crossover nature of it made it fun to play.
SEPTEMBER GAMES
42. Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (PS4) (100%)
Day Completed: Sep 4
This is indeed a glorified demo, but it is glorious. The first time i saw next-gen mgs gameplay. I really enjoyed this and it is integral to understanding phantom pain so I dont regret playing it at all (aslo it was for free from ps+ )
43. Batman: Arkham Origins (PS3) (Plat + 100%)
Day Completed: Sep 7
This game has bad reputation as the worst batman game. Indeed this may be true but worse batman game is way better than most games I loved this game and I believe it has the best boss fights in the franchise. The multiplayer sucked though. Stop putting multiplayer in single player games!
OCTOBER GAMES
44. Broken Age (PS4) (Plat + 100%)
Day Completed: Oct 11
As I loved the old point & click adventure games (especially the lucas arts) I expected to like this a lot. I was not wrong. Very interesting story, nice characters, a bit weird puzzles. Also I really wanted to see what will happen in the end. Very nice in general.
45. Until Dawn (PS4) (Plat + 100%)
Day Completed: Oct 21
Great experience! We played this game as a group of 4. Each one of us was responsible for two characters and they would make all decisions during their playtime. It was one of the best game experiences i have ever had in gaming. A lot of fun! Also we did pretty good as we managed to save everyone in our playthrough (no guides). Very nice game!
46. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4) (Plat + 100%)
Day Completed: Oct 22
This is the first game that I played in this generation and feel like it is really next-gen (even though its out for last-gen too ). Great gameplay, good graphics and sound. The story is very good but you have to look for it. Presentation was a problem. Also, I wish konami had let kojima finish the game the way he intended.... Still its one of the best games of the year (if not the best) and if he had finished it, it could have been best game of all time...
NOVEMBER GAMES
47. Tales from the Borderlands (PS4) (Plat + 100%)
Day Completed: Nov 1
I had never played any borderlands games and I wouldn't have played this if it wasn't part of the telltale games pack (5 games in a very big discounted price). Before starting it i was worried i would hate it. Boy, was I wrong. This may very well be the best telltale game released. Great writing, great setting, loved the characters and I loved that for once it was a tt game that had many comedy elements and it wasn't all serious with everything. Must play!
48. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Xbox 360) (Finished both Roche & Iorveth paths)
Day Completed: Nov 4
I have witcher 3 and I want to play it but I'm ocd and cant play a game if i havent played the previous games in the franchise. I played witcher 1 on pc when it first came out but I hadn;t played w2 because i never owned a xbox. My friend lent me his, along with his w2 copy. Very nice game, but it is a bit dated. I really like the branching paths. If I had more time I would play roche's path also but I will probably just watch it on youtube. I want to play more games including w3. Edit: Finished Roche's path too!
49. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4) (Plat + 100%)
Day Completed: Nov 14
Had previously played and platted in ps3. It is the weaker of the 3 uncharted games but I enjoyed it. It must be the game which has been revamped the most of the 3 as it is the oldest one. The Plat was easy, the difficult part was Brutal difficulty (needed for 100%). I would go as far as to say that brutal dc is unfair especially in the "on the rails" sequnces like the one with the jeep. Apart from that, I really enjoyed it!
50. Game of Thrones (Telltale Games) (PS4) (Plat + 100%)
Day Completed: Nov 18
This is one of the few telltale games that I played as each episode went out (and not all the episodes back to back when all were out). I am a bit disappointed. Choices in telltale games seldom have a big impact, but after playing the game I believe that this is even more than usual the case in got. Also the ending was true to the game of thrones mood and atmosphere but I wish there were some ways that the choices could have mattered more in order to bring a less "black ending".
DECEMBER GAMES
51. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4) (Completed all quests except expansion)
Day stopped playing: Dec 25
My GOTY for 2015. Incredible story, good graphics and unprecedented value for money. I have completed all quests (main, side, treasure hunts and contracts) and I have some miscellaneous trophies left for the platinum. Also I haven't played the expansion. I spend more than 160 hours on this game and I loved every second of it! Must buy for everyone!
52. King's Quest (PS4) (Completed chapter 1 to 100%)
Day Completed: Dec 26
This game was a very nice surprise. I grew up playing the sierra games of old (i have to admit i started playing on the great age of point & click adventures but I went back and played the text ones also). This was a lot more action oriented than the previous ones but I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were a lot of riddles/puzzles to solve. I have played it as part of psn+ so I do not own chapter 2 yet. I will probably buy it though!
53. Guitar Hero: Hits (PS3) (Played about 3 hours)
Day Stopped Playing: Dec 27
I had previously completed the guitar campaign but I had lost my data when my hdd crashed so I decided to play ita gain and i even started the bass campaign. Its one of the better guitar hero games mainly because of the playlist. I have no chance of ever platinuming this game as I suck - can't play good in greater difficulty than medium but I still enjoy playing it just for fun!
Criteria: Standard game completion
Time played: 7 hours
This was pretty greatl. I was a little worried for the first mission or two, as I wasn't really feeling it... but as the game progressed it just went from strength to strength, and overall is what I would consider one of the best Halo campaigns. The new movement abilities help the player actually feel more than human, and unlike Destiny they haven't made compromises to the core gunplay in order to incorporate them. The missions aren't the most open in Halo history, with nothing really resembling levels like The Silent Cartographer from Halo CE, but that's not to say that they're simply corridors. The stages instead are created with complex geometry that serves a real gameplay purchase, and allows for a lot of variety in how you approach each encounter, the vast open stretches of CE or H3 are instead traded for areas that are still huge, but have a lot filling them in, and are significantly more vertical.
There's a few things I don'tquite agree with... the Promethean walkers are even more annoying than before, mostly due to the fact that they now de-scope you constantly. And the events that take place in the game bear basically no resemblance to the marketing campaign behimd it... but these are small things in the face of all there is to like.
I think we can put to rest the discussion whether or not 343i are qualified to take over Halo now.. the real question imo is if they're now better at it than Bungie ever were.
#50: Life is Strange - 12.5 hours ★★★★
Stilted writing and long-winded dialogue didn't prevent this from being an otherwise enjoyable ride. Creative use of time travel, both mechanically and narratively. Poignant soundtrack.
Took me awhile to beat this one, just for the fact that the game wouldn't click with me at all, as hard as i tried. I ended up liking it a lot, though, even with its problems. It has some problematic cases, like 2 and 3, and the ending is completely absurd and disappointing, but the cast is great, especially Gavin and Trucy, amazing developed characters, and some nice twists thrown there too. I'd say it worth the uncountable tries i gave it, even if its not my favorite one in the series.
#45 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
I still haven't come in terms with this one, even though i loved it. Like, it was easily one of the most satisfying game experiences I've ever had, but still a disappointment... idk how to fell about it. I love it, but at the same time i fell like i shouldn't. Anyways, i don't regret any of the 80 hours i spent with it.
#46 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Nice but flawed, that's describes DG1 for me. The cases are great fun, even if a bit too easy, they have some nice twists, great OST, some amazing characters, and it develops its female cast so well... BUT, it has some glaring issues that stops it from being a masterpiece. A problematic and poorly designed ending, obnoxious lines of thought to clear some cases, and some terrible written characters, all these things sabotages what could have been perfect. Still, it was pretty good, and a nice gateway to one of my favorites franchises now.
#47 Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Now, this is something special for me. I had heard a lot of praise for it before playing, but damn i didn't expect it to be so good. Hell, good is not even the word for it, this is straight up one of the best games I've had the pleasure to experience. Pacing, story, puzzles design, artstyle, you name it, game is stunning in every single aspect. I wished i had some way to experience it again, and i hope everyone gets a chance to.
#48 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
This sequel improves so much on its predecessor, SO MUCH, that it even soured my enjoyment of the first one. And its not just an improved carbon copy, oh no, this games goes places i never expected it. Overall, holy shit it was MARVELOUS.
#49 Life is Strange EP. 5: Polarized
Satisfying ending to one of my favorite games of the year, just wished i could experience it all over again.
I'm sure this has been asked a million times, so apologies if I've missed the answer, but are episodic games considered a completion per episode or one for the whole series?
I.e. Wolf Among Us, Dreamfall, Walking Dead, Life is Strange, etc
I'm sure this has been asked a million times, so apologies if I've missed the answer, but are episodic games considered a completion per episode or one for the whole series?
I.e. Wolf Among Us, Dreamfall, Walking Dead, Life is Strange, etc
I asked the same question recently and the short answer is it's up to you. For instance, if you're playing Life is Strange or Minecraft Story Mode as it releases then it's perfectly understandable to record each episode as it's own separate entry. However, like me if you're clearing out The Walking Dead S1 from your backlog then it would feel a bit disingenuous to count it as five separate games; particularly if you're finishing them in bulk. That's my take on it anyway, but ultimately it's your call.
Game 20: Civilization 5 - 10 hours I love this game and I played a game and they're so long but worth it! Beware once you start ill consume you! 9/10
Game 21: Destiny: Takken King (PS4) - 15 hours I'll admit the game story is better, more characters and cut scenes but it's still destiny, there are improvements and I'm happy I tried it again. 7/10
Game 22:Tearaway unfolded: (PS4) - 12 hours This game was amazing! It was so charm and the ending made me incredibly sad/ happy. This is up there with my sack friend but with a few annoying camera angles and dragging on a bit it didn't over through little big planet. 8.5/10
Game 23: Batman arkham knight batgirl dlc (PS4) - 2 hours I may be one of the few to say I liked this a lot, at it's core it's traditional arkham gameplay. No batmobile to ruin it but a bit short and an actual boss fight! 8/10
Game 24: Amnesia: Machine for Pigs (PC) 6 hours okay so I started playing this a year or two back and stopped but started playing it again and man... I found it pretty boring and not that fun. 4/10
Game 25: Evolve (PS4) 5 hours Let me get down to it, I think the game has potential but it fails on many things. The first the matchmaking is terrible, can barely get into a game and drops half of them, as well the game modes for causal are all together! I wanted to play hunt but nope 75% of the time it was arena. The game is also not friendly for new people, I hate playing as the monster and guess what! Every game I was the monster! This game is not worth more then $20! 6/10
Game 26:Resident Evil: Revelation 2 (PS4) -5 hours Well I played through both of these games since I borrowed them and man I actually dislike this game a lot! I got to chapter 3 and quit, the game just is lacking the fun and is a drag. I tried to play it all the way through but can't. I will say for a $20 episodic game its long and okay looking. 4.5/10
Game 27: Dead Space 2 Severed (PS3) -3 hours I gotta say this was really enjoyable and lots of fun and makes me wish for another dead space already 8/10
Game 28: The order 1886 (PS4) - 10 hours It was beautiful, but the game play was so little it has potential and I liked the idea. 6.5/10
Game 29: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS4) - 8 hours This game is good for what it was but man it feels dated compared to the others and some bad check points 7.5/10
Game 30: Outlast (PS4) -5 hours Played this last year but this year I played with my friends and it was a blast and they nearly shit themselves quite a bit. But the game play gets a bit repetitive. 7/10
Game 31:Until Dawn (PS4) - 9 hours This game is once again super fun game with friends and was more like a movie which made it always interesting. 8/10
I have finished over 52 games this year, two years in a row. I estimated it to be approximately 750 hours for the first 52 but some times for specific games could be off significantly.
Game 1: Dragon Quest VI: Jan 3: 53:15h
Very good story, though objectives were sometimes unclear requiring a walkthrough. This was the DS version.
Game 2: Captain Toad: Jan 19: 7.5h
Those damn touchscreen wheels to turn, requiring the player to look away from the screen...
Game 3: Windosill: Jan 23: 1h
A short game, but one that I intended to finish for a long time.
Game 4: Ocarina of Time 3D: Jan 26th: 34h
It became a very impressive game, well worthy of being considered important. I had previously not played beyond the fire dungeon of the original version.
Game 5: Resident Evil HD Remaster: Jan 29: 12:22:53
I gained greater appreciation for the style of game, and greater understanding that it essentially a game about planning. Planning movement around the map and which order to do things.
Game 6: Infamous: First Light: Feb 7: 5h
I much preferred earlier Infamous games, perhaps because this one wasn't a full game so I didn't get as invested.
Game 7: Life is Strange: Episode 1: Feb 15: 2h
Game 8: Dragon Quest V: Feb 19: 42h
Android version. I didn't recruit monsters until late in the game since I hadn't gone into a particular building so that option didn't open up for me, making it much harder for me.
Game 9: Majora's Mask 3D: Mar 1: 38:22
One of the best games of the year.
Game 10: Pokemon Shuffle: Mar 9: 11:35
I counted this as finished when I reached the end of the levels that were available at the time, I think it was 150. More levels have since become available though.
Game 11: Atelier Shallie: Mar 17: 28h
I much prefer the usual Atelier style with clearly defined finite time, rather than this system that obfuscated it. Not very memorable.
Game 12: Episode Duscae: Mar 20: 4h
I'm counting it as a game. This was the '1.0' version.
Game 13: Bloodborne: Apr 4: 41h
Probably the best game of the year so far (as of November 1st). Getting health back from attacking was a very smart design decision.
Game 14: Life is Strange: Episode 2: Apr 6: 2h
Game 15: The Swapper: Apr 14: 10h
Game 16: Dragon Quest VIII: May 3: 76h
One of the best PS2 games and best RPGs I have played. Amazing experience.
Game 17: Box Boy: May 5: 7h
Game 18: Life is Strange: Episode 3: May 20: 3h
Game 19: Dragon Quest 1: 10h
This is the one game on the list that I had previously finished (not including remasters etc I finished previous versions of), and so I didn't record the day I finished it, but it is somewhere around here. Very good game with its simplicity working to its benefit.
Game 20: Splatoon: Jun 3: 5h
Single player mode finished at that time. The game as a whole is one of the best released this year and at one point might have overtaken Bloodborne, but network issues brought it a bit lower.
Game 21: 999: June 5: 8h
Game 22: Kirby's Epic Yarn: Jun 7: 5h20m
Game 23: You Must Build A Boat: Jun 12: 10h
Moving away from the simplicity of 10,000,000 worked against it.
Game 24: Mutant Blobs Attack: Jun 13: 6h
Game 25: The Last of Us: Left Behind: Jun 24: 3h
Game 26: Persona 4 Golden: Jun 24: 50h
This was the bad ending, I suppose. After finding there is more gameplay if some different choices are made, I made those decisions and have continued on, but not finished that.
Game 27: Kirby Triple Deluxe: Jul 1: 15h
Game 28: Batman: Arkham Knight: Jul 5: 30h
Game 29: Entwined: Jul 9: 3h
The core gameplay was good. The end of chapter sequences less so.
Game 30: Her Story: Jul 10: 4h
Interesting idea well implemented.
Game 31: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: Jul 16: 5h
Game 32: Flower PS4: Jul 16: 1h30m
Game 33: Journey PS4: Jul 21: 1h30m
Game 34: Mousecraft: Jul 27: 7h
Surprisingly good puzzle game, like a Lemmings except you create a path out of tetris blocks of different materials instead of assigning the lemmings jobs.
Game 35: Life is Strange: Episode 4: Jul 29: 3h
Game 36: King's Quest: Episode 1: Jul 31: 5h
Very good adventure game. The episode release schedule is unclear but it looks to be slower than I expected.
Game 37: Home: Aug 6: 1h
Game 38: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture: Aug 13: 4h
Game 39: Hatoful Boyfriend: Aug 16: 3h
Game 40: Toki Tori 2+: Aug 24: 20h
There were a few problems on my way to finishing this game over the years, like hitting a checkpoint when a puzzle was in an unsolvable state and not knowing it. But I got through it, and past a puzzle I was stuck on for a while just by talking through it with a friend who started playing it.
Game 41: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood: Aug 24: 6h
Game 42: Until Dawn: Aug 27: 9h
Good while it lasted and it didn't overstay its welcome.
Game 43: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Sep 11: 70h
Excellent gameplay but I still don't know what to think about it otherwise.
Game 44: Kentucky Route Zero: Act 2: Sep 17: 2h
Like Windosill in January, it is short but I intended to play this for a long time.
Game 45: Lara Croft Go: Sep 20: 3h
The Go series is one of the highlights of games made for mobile. I hope it continues.
Game 46: Earthbound: Sep 21: 30h
Excellent game with amazing art design.
Game 47: Never Alone: Sep 30: 4h
Game 48: Undertale: Oct 7: 6h
One of the best games of the year. I don't normally like it when turn-based RPGs have action elements such as Mario & Luigi games, but the bullet hell gameplay was a great gameplay design decision.
Game 49: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered: Oct 10: 10h
It increased my appreciation of the original game, which at the time I thought had pacing issues. Very good game.
Game 50: Life is Strange: Episode 5: Oct 20: 3h
Game 51: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered: Oct 25: 10h
I finished the original version on its release and this version shows the game is still great.
Game 52: Dragon Quest Heroes: Nov 1: 25h
As it uses Dragon Quest characters and skills it overcame the main problem I had getting into Dynasty Warriors games, which was difficulty remembering the characters and politics.
Game 53: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Remastered: Nov 2: 10h
I think more highly of the game now, it dragged a bit towards the end but it was an excellent adventure overall.
Game 54: Rise & Repeat: Nov 12: 30m
It's short but played over a number of days. Art game mixing Animal Crossing's real time clock schedule with a male-male gym shower massage.
Game 55: Yoshi's Woolly World: Nov 22: 12h
I am glad that I finished it. My interest in some levels delayed this, but it had some strong levels throughout.
Game 56: QUBE: Director's Cut: Nov 22: 5h
It got more dramatic than I expected. There were some good puzzles even though the aiming (PS4) controls were sometimes frustrating (needing the player to aim at small blocks quickly).
Game 57: Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1: Nov 28: 3h
Played the first episode for free and now bought the season pass.
Game 58: 80 Days: Dec 2: 3h
Game 59: Costume Quest 2: Dec 5: 6h30m
Delightful. Initial impressions of the gameplay would be improved if the upgrades to the battle system were there from the start since the battles start off boring.
Game 60: Framed: Dec 12: 1h30m
Mobile game where you rearrange comic book panels to allow a character to move between the panels safely. Very good puzzle game idea.
Game 61: Final Fantasy VII: Dec 15: 40h
This was the PS4 version of the PC release. I used some L3 to speed through some elements occasionally but didn't use the other cheats. After going for a lot of the trophies on disc 1, I found I had significantly overlevelled without really realising it at the time.
Game 62: King's Quest: Episode 2: Dec 16: 3h
It had a compelling concept but it undermined that by the end.
You're lead to believe you need to make difficult choices to save different characters from dying, having finite resources and days to do so, turns out they were just unwell and taken away for treatment and they are all saved.
Game 63: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1: Dec 25: 2h
Very interesting concept, I really enjoyed the detective work. I should have bought this sooner.
Game 64: Emily is Away: Dec 27: 30m
It was only with the ending, from where it was clear it would end, that it impressed me. Good storytelling.
Game 65: Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 2: Dec 31: 2h
I asked the same question recently and the short answer is it's up to you. For instance, if you're playing Life is Strange or Minecraft Story Mode as it releases then it's perfectly understandable to record each episode as it's own separate entry. However, like me if you're clearing out The Walking Dead S1 from your backlog then it would feel a bit disingenuous to count it as five separate games; particularly if you're finishing them in bulk. That's my take on it anyway, but ultimately it's your call.
I only count them as one game regardless of when they come out and post updates as I complete each episode. Eg, Life is Strange is Game #7 on my list, so when I post my latest update it'll have Episode 5 listed as Game #7 (Update). It just didn't seem fair to count such short episodes as individual games.
I've finished my 52 games and am currently working on my update. I finished seven games in October, so it's just taking me a while.
I only count them as one game regardless of when they come out and post updates as I complete each episode. Eg, Life is Strange is Game #7 on my list, so when I post my latest update it'll have Episode 5 listed as Game #7 (Update). It just didn't seem fair to count such short episodes as individual games.
I've finished my 52 games and am currently working on my update. I finished seven games in October, so it's just taking me a while.
I've been treating them as individual games, as they have a beginning, middle and end whilst also being treated as separate entities on most game database sites. The length aspect doesn't bother me too much as I've the likes of Journey, To The Moon, Year Walk and a slew of short DLC already on my list.
Game 42: Kung Fu Rabbit
The definition of a meh game. Nothing stands out and the increased difficulty on later levels serves no purpose.
Game 43: Goat Simulator
Dumb fun little game that somehow made me compelled to try everything that had to offer. Sometimes you just want to relax with a ripped goat sliding down a water park.
Game 44: Tales from the Borderlands
The irregular release schedule ended up ruining the experience for me. I like episodic content and having to play it once every month but after the strong first 2 episodes, I got disengaged with the plot and the humor also felt more stale than before.
8 games in 2 months look easy but with the amount of free time I have it feels impossible to achieve at the moment.
Game 45: Klonoa (Vita): Nice platformer, that got annoying in the end. Maybe it was me because I played it before going to sleep and my reflexes weren't up to the challenge. Don't have much more to say about it. If I would have played it as a kid I'd probably had cried at the ending (even now I had a little tear in the eye). Good platformer with some minor flaws. Game 46: Crash Bandicoot 2 (Vita): Wonder why I bought that game. My only nostalgia for Crash was always watching a friend playing it when I was a kid. And I bought the first one last year and thought it was terrible. Now it was reduced in price and I couldn't resist and gave it another try. Crash 2 is so much better than its predecessor. That said, for my liking the jumping did feel unprecise and overall not very good. And the later jetpack levels were annoying. Overall it is an enjoyable game with flaws. Game 47: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC): I don't know what I can say about the game other than I've never played a game so long that I didn't enjoy. After a few hours of questing through the world I was bored and annoyed. The sidequests are meaningless other than working through a checklist. The story was uninteresting for me and I've never skipped so much dialogue in a game like I did in this. The combat system is serviceable but falls flat to the games it tries to imitate. The artstyle is pretty but also a generic Blizzard clone. Kingdoms of Amalur is a good game that overstays it's welcome. If I would describe I'd call it a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Game 48: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4): Enojoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Already played it on PS3 and only got the collection because I won it as a prize. Which is maybe why I enjoyed it more than I expected. It still looks good, it feels better to play in 60FPS, the characters are still likeable eventhough they are mass murders. Some encounters were designed as shit though and most of my deaths weren't in gunfights but because Drake skipped an animation and fell into his death instead of grabing the edge. Game 49: 3D Classics Outrun (n3DS): Needed a little bit to get used too, but in the end it was one of the few racing games I like playing. Got some heavy 80's/90's vibe from driving with your blonde girlfriend in a ferrari. The sprites looked good and even though the background design was often repeated it looked good, too. I know there was a HD version on 360 but I missed that. Here's hoping Sega releases another HD-version for either WiiU, PS4, NX or PC.
Currently playing: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered (PS4), Nier (Xbox360)
#17 - Hyrule Warriors (Wii U) (Time in 2015: 68:08:00; Total Time 84:20:00) - Did the entire Story Mode and almost the whole Challenge Mode, so I unlocked all characters and almost every weapon. I'm done with this for the year, but I'll continue it for next year's challenge with the DLC maps.
#18 - The Quiet Collection: Candy, Please! (Wii U) (2:07:00) - Second in the series, even though it's really episode 4, but did it today because of the Halloween theme. Puzzles were A LOT harder, but managed to solve it on my own.
Ok, so I played this on PC and I can absolutely recommend that you do not play this game on PC. I'm fortunate enough to have a machine with enough power to brute force an acceptable performance out of the game, but even then, as I started approaching the endgame, stuttering crept in and audio started dropping randomly. For the vast majority of people, it's going to run like ass. I will say that it's an absolutely gorgeous game, though. The scale and effects and destruction on display were impressive from the first moment to the last. Gameplay has changed a little from Arkham City to focus on driving and tanking around in the Batmobile, which means a lot less beating up random thugs on the street. The Batmobile stuff isn't as good as the rest of the game, but I welcome the change. It gives Arkham Knight its own identity instead of being City/Origins all over again and gave Rocksteady a greater set of tools to pace the gameplay beats. It's basically a wonderful addition to the Rocksteady Arkham trilogy and I had a blast with it. I haven't seen the full ending yet because it's locked behind completing all the sidequests, and that's a dumb move. But, if it is what I suspect, it makes sense that everything else needs to be taken care of first. I'll definitely go back and mop up the remaining stuff, but now it's time to move on to something else. I'm really, really excited to see what Rocksteady do next. Just do the PC version in-house next time, yeah? If you like Batman: Arkham City, you'll like this
42. Velocity Ultra (Vita) - 1st November - approx. 6-8 hours
Started playing this a couple of years ago but despite enjoying it I never made it past about 15 or 20 levels. I loved Velocity 2X and decided to go back and finish this, and I really enjoyed it. It's a great shmup with some excellent level design, with a good mix of levels requiring combat, racing through and exploration. It's a terrific game although I thought 2X was better in most regards. 8/10
Currently playing: The Walking Dead S1 (PS3), LIT (Android), Grim Fandango (VIta) and I'm not sure what to play next on my PS4.
In a market oversaturated with standardized Nintendo 2D platformers, retro-styled indie sidescrollers and Metroidvanias, it feels hard to come across something notable in that area, but Shovelknight has finally found a somewhat refreshing and genuinely well crafted take on it.
This game takes elements from several role models like Megaman, Ducktales, Dark Souls, Mario Bros. 3 and more, but mixes them in a unique way that has it's very own feel and has received it's own identity.
It is an action platformer first and foremost, with pretty long stages that offer both variety and highly competent level design, which is gradually becoming more challenging, without ever feeling cheap. There's also several quite sophisticated battle scenarios which you encounter and quite a bit to explore, as it also has a motivating adventure aspect to it, which lets you tackle situations in many different ways without any kind of handholding. The characters are quite nice and make it stand out from other throwbacks too.
A good ending to a good challenge, even though there's still several games to come for me. And I'm not sure whether that's good or bad, I mean, where did I take that time from? Seriously though, even if you don't make it, this is a good topic to reflect on your beat games in general, without resorting to LTTPs or necrobumping. No reason to skip the challenge, although next time I'll take it more casually, as sometimes I felt a certain pressure (about either not finishing bad games, hard arcade games, or even holding back certain things from the backlog for a later date).
October puts me past the 60 mark. Been playing the Hell out of Infinite Space, SMT III: Nocturne, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and KOTOR II: the Sith Lords. All four games are beefy as Hell, so I've been killing smaller games off during weekends and lunch breaks. I dropped out of both Red Steel 2 (too much motion sickenss to continue) and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 (PS2 finally died) or else my years total would be 2 higher.
Game 58: Star Wars: Republic Commando (PC) - October 8 - 7 hours
Very cool shooter where you control a squad of 4 rather than going lone wolf. All 4 members are well done, with different voices and skills, though I would not have complained if Temura Morrison were all four for obvious reasons. Could have been better optimized for the PC, perhaps. Game is perfect shooter length, with three long beefy missions that tie into the Clone War timeline pretty well.
Game 59: Dead or Alive: Dimensions (3DS) - October 12 - 9 hours
My first DOA game, found it a mixed bag. Story mode was standard Fighting game fare. Played the various challenges until I unlocked all characters/outfits. The mechanics did not jive with me well, I found everyone played too similar for my tastes and wound up maining Hitomi. Game looked great, though.
Game 60: SWAT 4: the Stetchkov Syndicate (PC) - October 17 - 4 hours
More of the same with the expansion, and that's a good thing. 7 new missions, roughly half the size of the base game which had 13. Final Mission against the Syndicate itself was the best in the entire series.
Game 61: Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (3DS) - October 19 - 11 hours
Ah, Punch-Out!!, one of my favourites from the 80s, the original 2 arcade games were GOTYs for me in my youth. Mr. Dream, however, was an exercise in frustration for me, showing just how far my middle-aged reflexes have diminished. The game is still great, but I unfortunately am not.
Game 62: Rome: Total War: Alexander (PC) - October 25 - 9 hours
The last leg of Rome: Total War, and my favourite campaign of the lot. Alexander himself is the most overpowered unit in Total War history. It makes sense, both historically and in the game, as you have scant number of turns to conquer the near east. I pulled it off, but not after 2 re-loads in the mid game during the conquest of Babylon.
Game 63: Darkstalkers Chronicle: the Chaos Tower (PSP) - October 28 - 4 hours
Mained Sasquatch again through both Arcade modes a few times and a run through the Chaos Tower itself. Fun, but no real desire to continue onwards.
Man I've fallen way behind and (for the moment at least) it looks like the only way I'm gonna pull off the challenge this year is by binge playing for the next 2 months since I'm just 16 games away.
35. Rare Replay (played 26 of 30 games - est playtime 17hrs) - I had a hard time deciding how I was gonna tackle this as far as the 52 game challenge was concerned and I decided that since it was a compilation that I'd count it as one game, but given it's size (30 games) it would be pretty hard to completely finish so I'm going with a split of the rules. I exceed 10 hrs of gameplay, playing all but 4 of the games (for at least 30 mins or more) and beat several(mostly the early Spectrum games plus Battletoad Arcade) of the games in the collection. All in all I enjoyed this "game" and will eventually try to play & beat every game included (especially Grabbed by Ghoulies, Battletoads, Banjo Kazooie, and both Perfect Dark games), but for now I am happy that I've experience most of what this game has to offer including a few of the unlockable mini documentaries & trailers.
36. WWE 2K16 (Finished 2K Showcase/story mode on 11/1/15 - est playtime 17 hrs) - It's been a very very long time since I played a wrestling game (2005's Smackdown vs. Raw, which I played a few weeks after it had come out over at a friends) and even longer since I bought one the week it came out (WWF Smackdown for the PS1) but seeing Stone Cold Steve Austin on the cover plus the selling points of having the largest roster (120) of wrestlers and the nostalgia of "reliving" Austin's reign over the WWF were enough to get me to purchase this game the week it came out. At first this game was very very frustrating to me (it seemed like ever couple of minutes there was a curse word coming out of my mouth) since I was more familiar with the more fun/arcade style found in the early WWF smackdown games but I kept at it and the more I played it (mainly through the 2K showcase/story mode) the more it grew on me. I've now gotten to the point where I decided to play a few online matches (though I ended up playing mostly against assholes who keep taunting me while on the ground and move so damn fast that not even a second after doing a reversal they hit me with another move essentially causing me to burn through my reversal meter) and am even contemplating trying out the my career & WWE Universe modes.
43. Coconut Dodge Revitalised (Vita) - 2nd November - approx. an hour
This is a cute little game based on a Playstation Mini, but there's not much to it. You move a crab left and right to catch falling gems and avoid falling coconuts, and that's pretty much all there is to it. There doesn't seem to be any objectives besides getting a high score so I played for as many trophies as I could and then wasn't particularly compelled to keep going, so left it there. It's okay, it controls well, but there's not much more to talk about. 5/10
Currently playing: The Walking Dead S1 (PS3), LIT (Android), and I may start Dragon Fin Soup tonight on my PS4 or Vita. Probably Vita.
#19 - Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA VC on WIi U) (28:37:10 in-game time) - Played this game many times but this was my first run on Wii U. One of the easiest in the series, but the more condensed story and smaller cast make it quite memorable.
Game #45 - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4) - 19/09/15
Pretty disappointing story, especially as it was the end of the series, but a great game regardless. The gameplay is flawless, which when mixed with the fantastic level design and crazy attention to detail, results in a game that's incredibly fun to play. It's also really impressive what the Fox Engine is capable of, to the point where I'm kinda interested in getting the PS3 version just to see how it runs.
Game #46 - Until Dawn (PS4) - 26/09/15
The successor to Heavy Rain (specifically the Taxidermist DLC episode) I wanted Beyond: Two Souls to be. Supermassive did a really great job with the choices, making even the minor ones have an effect on your relationship stats with other characters and then having what seems to be a surprisingly wide range of dialogue possibilities and even branching paths based on those stats. By making you care about the characters, they also make you want everything to turn out well even if you manage to save them all. The graphics, frame rate and animation are pretty inconsistent and the performances a bit iffy in spots, but the game is so good that I didn't really care about them. I think my only real complaint is that the replayability is hurt somewhat by the poor chapter selection screen, as each scene's progress and choices are only saved once you finish you game. So if you replay the first half of the game, none of your progress during that playthrough will be reflected on the selection screen. It's a bit of a weird set up.
I can't wait to see what Supermassive Games do next in this space. Hopefully they build on what they've done with Until Dawn, going even further with variability within the story and upping the production values a bit.
Game #47 - Tearaway Unfolded (PS4) - 03/10/15
Having played and loved the original on the Vita, I was really looking forward to picking this up and getting some more Tearaway, even if it was just a reimagining of the original. That's exactly what I got. The art style is still gorgeous, the gameplay is fun and the level design is great. I'm actually surprised how much new stuff they did add though, as I wasn't expecting so many new levels and gameplay mechanics. It was a welcome surprise and they fit the game perfectly, especially the paper plane flying, which I had a lot of fun with.
I guess the biggest downside was those parts were the only surprises I got from the game, as I'd already played the original. I did really enjoy it but I always knew where it was going. Oh, I guess there's another big downside: We're never going to get a sequel.
Game #48 - Volume (PS4) - 08/10/15
Nearly a month after last playing it, I finally got back into Volume, started enjoying it, finished it, finished it another 2-3 times and stopped enjoying it. The story wasn't interesting at all, due to the dialogue all taking place during gameplay and while that worked for Thomas Was Alone, Volume's more involved gameplay led me to completely blank on what they were saying. But it's that involved gameplay that made me enjoy it, as it took the old MGS1 style of gameplay and added a number of unique ideas to mix up the levels.
Unfortunately, I then encountered what appeared to be a glitchy trophy and since the game doesn't have any in-game way of tracking the collectables, I had to replay the game more than two more times to finally unlock it. I'm absolutely sure I'd found the one it popped on on an earlier playthrough, as there's no way I would've missed it where it was located. I'm glad I eventually got the trophy but it really did kill my enjoyment of the game, which sucks.
Game #49 - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4) - 11/10/15
I hadn't played the first Uncharted since 2008, so getting back into it was a blast. Even though it had been a long time, the improvements to the graphics and gameplay rebalancing are very noticeable. The only thing that clearly shows its age on the graphics front are the animations, which are noticeably more primitive in comparison to Naughty Dog's later games. The other thing that shows its age are a lot of the enemy encounters. For the first two thirds or so of the game, you're often thrown into fairly mundane areas and forced to kill waves of the same three or four enemies over and over. This improves enormously once you get to that last third, which is when they start introducing more enemy types and larger areas, pushing you to use more strategy and take some risks as you fight them.
The story holds up really well without any improvements though. It's certainly not the best in the series but compared to Golden Abyss or Tomb Raider 2013, it's still pretty great and really entertaining.
I managed to finish it on Crushing, Brutal and then a quick speed run on Easy. Crushing was a lot easier than I remember, thanks to the rebalancing Bluepoint and Naughty Dog did to the game. Enemies take less shots to kill, making them far less bullet spongey, while Drake takes one or two more shots before he dies. But then you get to the new Brutal difficulty and it's somehow way harder than Crushing was in the original. Drake takes 1-2 bullets before he dies, which means there are points throughout the game where you literally have less than a second to somehow avoid getting killed right after a cutscene/QTE or a checkpoint respawn. It's entirely reliant on luck, which I thought was bullshit.
Game #50 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered (PS4) - 18/10/15
Playing them one after the other, it's pretty impressive how much of an improvement Uncharted 2 was over the original. Almost everything is greatly improved, the graphics (which aren't quite as good as I remember but still easily some of the best we saw last gen), gunplay, responsiveness, environment variety, level design, performances, story and even the puzzles, which were never the focus of the series. The biggest change, however, was the focus on epic set pieces. The train alone would've been more than enough but there's also the collapsing hotel, helicopter fight, tank sequence, truck sequence and so on. About the only real problems I had with it were the lame final boss fight and the big three-way combat sequence between Nate/Elena/Chloe, the mercenaries and the guardians, where enemies infinitely respawn until you fight your way over to where they're spawning from (something that isn't obvious at all and took me a while to figure out). Still, that's just a small disappointment in what's still an awesome game.
Like the first game, I finished it on Crushing, Brutal and a speed run on Easy. Once again, Crushing seemed easier (which was a bit of a surprise, either I'm a lot better than I was back when I first played it or they rebalanced it too) and Brutal was bullshit. I do give them credit for allowing Drake to take more hits during certain sequences though, as they would've been impossible otherwise. Would've been nice if they'd done that during a couple of Uncharted 1's sequences too.
Game #7 (Update) - Life is Strange: Episode 5 (PS4) - 20/10/15
The final episode of one of my favourite games of the year. While trying not to get into spoilers, this episode was a bit too linear for my liking but despite some of the complaints others have directed at it, I really liked it. A game like this doesn't need to branch off into a million different endings, not if the ending works and as far as I'm concerned, it did. Given the level of writing shown in this game, I can't wait for Vampyr and the inevitable sequel/second season.
Disappointing but still a great game in its own right. It has its issues, liked the rushed story (due to MacTavish leaving mid-development), a couple of weird looking character models (namely Elena and Chloe) and combat issues (hyperactive AI never standing still and poor enemy hit reactions) that were hard to adjust to but once I did, I enjoyed Uncharted 3 as much as I did 2. The awesome set pieces are still there, the great level design is too and for a first, the end game sequence is pretty fantastic, easily the best in the series. The setting was almost the complete opposite of Uncharted 2 but I thought it worked really well. And more Sully is always a good thing.
Game #52 - Testament of Sherlock Holmes (PS3) - 29/10/15
I decided to check this out because I really enjoyed Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments when it went on PS+ earlier in the year and it finally went on sale recently. I ended up enjoying it but it wasn't quite as good as C&P. The story was good, with all the twists and turns you'd expect from a Sherlock Holmes story. The mysteries were decent and the puzzles were pretty good, sometimes stumping me for a while. Performance wasn't great but for a UE3 game on PS3, not the worst I've played.
But the thing that brought my opinion down is the same thing that made me appreciate C&P even more: The mysteries. All the clue finding, deductions, etc. are really fun to me but only having the one main story in Testament limits that aspect to just the few mysteries that fit. Frogwares solved this in the sequel by going with six shorter stories, which creates a number of unique scenarios and mysteries, allowing me to get my fill of them. And on top of that, each of those stories had multiple endings. I've heard a lot of things about the way they've steadily improved upon their formula with these games and now that I've played the proof of that, I'm pretty excited to play The Devils Daughter and see where they go next.
Currently Playing
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (PSV)
52 games done! It took me 11 months but I finally got there.
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Criteria: Standard game completion
Time played: ?? hours
Not sure why I replayed this to be fair. I didn't like it the first time I played it on PS3, and that opinion really hasn't changed. The locations lack the feeling of place that the Tomb Raider reboot managed to provide, and simply came across as forgettable obstacle courses. When returning to the game at each session I'd generally not even recall where I was, and how I got there, as none of the events or locales were leaving an impression in my memory. What did stick in memory however are the endless waves of tedious firefights. Combat is pretty awful in this game, and so to have the game padded out so much with them, and having additional waves constantly repopulating rooms after a previous fight appeared to be over was tiring. The aiming system is so at odds with the enemies movement abilities, that it reminds me a lot of Perfect Dark, with enemies weaving around constantly as if you're supposed to be playing with a mouse. I'd also rather not talk about the boat sections, which were frankly shockingly awful.
This entry is generally not looked back on very favourably though, and I've never played either of the other two entries, so I'm hoping that they (UC2 especially) are more enjoyable, as playing this particular entry after Tomb Raider has only lowered my impression of it.
21. Ratchet & Clank: Nexus - PS3 (platinum)
Mmm, as a big Ratchet fan I was a bit let down by this. The game overall just feels unpolished, the switch to 30 fps was bad enough, but there's constant frame drops so it generally runs in the low 20s, there wasn't really great or memorable weapons, or villains, or locations, or much of anything. Though I did enjoy the new jetpack and flying around the swamp area.
6/10
22. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride - DS
I really enjoyed this, Dragon Quest is such a great series when you want some classic JRPG gameplay, and this was a step up from IV which I played earlier in the year. The story was neat, with the three time periods showing the story of your life being a neat little gimmick. Monster recruitment was cool too, even if it didn't really add all too much and I generally preferred to use other party members when given the choice.
9/10
23. Persona 4 Golden - Vita (platinum)
One of my all time favourites. Played the PS2 game last year, but little did I know at the time that I'd missed the true ending and final dungeon, so I went for a replay sooner than expected with Golden! I really loved the new features in this (choosing which abilities get passed down with fusions especially), and the game just overall works really well on a handheld. It's really a prime example of how to improve an already fantastic game.
10/10
24. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - PS4
Oh boy.
I love this series, so I went into this with high hopes. Big mistake. The poor story pacing (and lack of a conclusion) is probably the worst thing, but all the other little annoyances just add up way to much; repetitive missions, poor micro managing with mother base, annoying and lengthy helicopter intros for each mission, the really boring and bland open world. I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. The core stealth gameplay was really polished and great.
7/10
25. Sound Shapes - Vita (platinum)
This game was weird. It feels like it's meant to be a platformer, but a lot of the levels feel like you're literally just moving across towards the goal with no skill involved at all, and the death mode that actually tests you is a shitty luck based mess (for those that don't know, they're just collect 20 things in 60 seconds or whatever, where the collectables spawn one at a time in random locations, so you can chain 10 right next to each other, or just have to run from one side of the map to the other repeatedly).
5/10
26. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - Vita (platinum)
Incredible game. The story was engaging, and some of the twists really surprised me in the best way possible. The puzzle rooms were also really well done for the vast majority of the game (there was a couple I had to google where my reaction to the solution was pretty much 'that's stupid') and are oh-so-satisfying to complete. There was also some really nice tracks in the OST. Only real gripe is how some scenes are repetitive in alternate timelines because the same stuff happens but just slightly different which makes them unskippable.
I need Zero Time Dilemma now.
10/10
That triple hit of DQV, P4G and MGSV completely ate up my time and any hopes left of hitting 52 this year, but that's three big games out of the way for next year
I ran out of space in my original post which I have been updating this year, so I'll continue here. Good timing since I expect to be done in November since I'm now at 47 games done with a few halfway finished.
October - 3 games
In addition to the numbered games, I played a ton of Destiny in September and October (and am still playing it, nearing on 50 hours now). I'll probably count it for December, but we'll see. Also played some Corpse Party (psp) after that went on sale on PSN, but I got sidetracked and expect to finish that for November. Same with Life is Strange, played through episodes 1-3 already and planning to do 4 and 5 in November.
44. Wolftenstein: The Old Blood - 8 hours
I felt that the pacing was a bit off compared to The New Order, but this was still pretty great. I'm totally on board with their next game.
45. Until Dawn - 25 hours-ish
What a fantastic game, playing with horror tropes and adventure game mechanics to make a fucking great game that I ultimately platinumed. The first run through I went in blind and got a few people killed, the second time through I used a guide to save everyone and get the collectibles, and the third time through I started midway (using chapter select on a Save All run lets you skip the first half of the game for Kill All, which is helpful) and got everyone killed in some pretty gruesome ways. Supermassive nailed the game for me and my expectations, and they seem to have had a solid success with it, so hopefully they refine things in what they do next.
46. Costume Quest - 9 hours
The main game and the dlc story, what a fun little adventure. I really enjoyed this and it was a great Halloween game.
November. - 5 games
47. Yoshi's Woolly World - 7 hours
Adorable as fuck. Beautiful to look at, great music, solid platforming. I do wish you could manually control where to throw stuff, but it wasn't a big deal. I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did, but once I started playing I couldn't put it down.
48. Life is Strange - 18 hours (spread over 2 months or so, I did 1-3 close together and 4-5 in a day.
Loved it. I got deep into the world they built, searching everywhere for the photos to take and chatting with everyone to learn more. The music was fantastic and probably my favorite OST besides Bloodborne this year. The story did some really cool things (including the big one in episode 3 that I expected), but it was all done hella well and wrapped up nicely. I felt that they struck a nice balance between story (girl who can manipulate time) and game mechanics (but she can only do it within this scene so nothing breaks). I'd totally recomend it to anyone.
49. Halo 5 - 10 hours
I really enjoyed the single player and plan to play through again on Heroic in a few months once the spring rush of games is past, since for as much as I looked forward to the game, it came out at an awful time for me to spend a lot of time with it. I plan to play more going forward now that BTB is finally added. A lot of fun, shitty HUD (the visor/helmet covering so much is awful, it never looks good in any game and it makes things feel cramped), and the gameplay is the best in the series so far (60 fps is fucking great in Halo). Solid game, but I really wish it released at a different point in the year so I could have spent more time with it at launch.
50. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - 8 hours
Similar enough gameplay to the recent games, but with somehow an even less coherent story than before. I liked what it tried to do with the later sections in the campaign, but it constantly felt hampered down by tropes of the series rather than actually pushing forward to say or do something actually interesting. Definitely on the lower end of the series for me, which is a shame since Black Ops 1 and 2 are both some of the better ones (BO1 probably number one for me).
51. Star Wars Battlefront - 10 hours
10 hours via EA Access and I'm definitely done with the game. It's a beautiful game and it sounds perfectly like Star Wars, but the gameplay is often too chaotic and unengaging to stay with. Some cool modes and the game does some things really well, but not enough to keep me coming back for more.
December - 5 games
52. Fallout 4 - 78 hours
I've been playing it almost exclusively since it arrived a month ago, and I finished tonight with the Platinum trophy unlocked after a shitton of time played. I liked a lot of what I played, but for as much as I liked there was something that rubbed me the wrong way. I liked the voice acted dialogue trees, but hated the lack of choice (Yes/No/Sarcastic/Question every fucking time) or that your skills had no effect on dialogue (besides Ladykiller, I guess). The writing was just shit sometimes, enough for even me to complain about it when I can almost always overlook it. I liked base building, but hated that doing it is so cumbersome, you have no easy way to manage your people, is forced upon you a few times in the story, and has no appreciable endgame or real reward to it. I liked that picking up random shit in the world has a purpose now beyond just selling it to vendors, but your resources aren't shared across all your settlements for some reason. Modding guns and armor is pretty cool, but I ended up using the same gun for a good chunk of the game so the progression is wonky. Inventory management is shitty at times, especially when you accidentally click 'take all' and die on the inside because you didn't quick save before entering the menu. The game fucking chugs at times on the PS4, the load times are shit, it oscillates between looking good and looking not so good, and it's fairly buggy.
And despite all that, it was still engaging enough for me to spend a ton of time in that world. I 1k'ed Fallout 3, did the same with New Vegas besides those two gambling achievements since I never understood that game), and now this, so there is definitely something to this formula that I like. The game is definitely better than the sum of its parts, with some fantastic moments and a lot of fun to be had, but ultimately wears thin as the hours pile on (or maybe it's because at this point I've probably put 300 hours into basically the same Fallout formula). It does a lot right and a lot wrong or poorly. I'll be curious to revisit it in a year or two on pc, where I can give myself effectively infinite ammo, resources, items, and perks so that I can focus on questing over inventory junk while also running smoothly (and hopefully with a HUD mod). Fortunately I didn't run into any game-stopping bugs in my time, a few crashes and some funky moments but nothing too broken.
53. Battlefield 4 - 8 hours
This was a big let down after the (what I thought) pretty decent campaign in Battlefield 3. The combat scenarios were less interesting and typically poorly designed. 3 was well balanced even on Hard mode, whereas this felt super uneven on Easy. Very disappointing.
54. Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty - 18 hours
I played this when it released and enjoyed it, but since part 3 just released I wanted to go back and play through the entirety of Starcraft 2. This was definitely as fun and varied as I remembered, and I appreciated the ways that it gave you more choice on how to customize your guys (and also how they varied that throughout the campaigns). A lot of fun.
55. Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm - 15 hours
I wasn't in the right mood for this when it released, so I played a few missions and didn't return to it (figuring that I'd do what I did and play through it all when episode 3 released). This was really great, though I still don't like playing as the Zerg as much as the Terrans. A few dumb moments story-wise, but overall it was fine.
56. Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void - 15 hours
Man the gameplay is fucking great in these games, and Protoss were always my favorite since I loved making masses of carriers and swarming over everything on the map in Starcraft 1. The main campaign is solid enough, though I didn't care as much for the struggles of the Protoss compared to Raynor's mission against Mengsk and Kerrigan's mission against Mengsk, but it was still damned good to play through. I loved the ability to warp in dudes everywhere, and then to be able to warp in a Pylon with a few dudes from the ship anywhere on the map (rather than moving a worker to summon one). The epilogue missions were a lot of fun to play but were pretty bad story-wise, but overall I'm glad that I played through all three episodes in a row like this, and as a whole Starcraft 2 was fucking great for me (as someone that doesn't care for the multiplayer, just the single player campaign gameplay).
Criteria: Standard game completion
Time played: 3 hours
So, the end of what's been the most pleasant gaming surprise of the year for me. This episode was very trippy, almost reminiscent of the ending of Bioshock Infinite. I will say though, that it's somewhat important to view the episode as a whole as the game's ending, as the actual ending is brutally short, and unfortunately renders basically every prior choose mostly meaningless. It was a disappointing end to the game, but with the rest of the episode being as strong as ever, it's not something I'm going to dwell too much on.
I'm not sure another season is something that can be reasonably justified, but I'm very much looking forward to Dontnod's next project if they stick with a similar formula.
80:49h. 58% of the game complete, saw all endings except for the one nobody has got. Hoo boy. Let me preface this by saying that I think MGSV is the finest stealth game ever. Every single bit of the gameplay is so insanely fun. The way the enemies adapt to your way of playing, the almost perfect difficulty curve (with exceptions, I'm looking at you op. 45), the controls, everything feels... just perfect. That said, spoilers galore from this point on. I'm not tagging them, so BEWARE.
TPP has left a bit of a bad aftertaste. I'm not particularly concerned about the fanservice (or the fan disservice, AKA Paz) or the strange plot twists, though I remember actually saying to myself "How can that be the plot to anything!?" during op. 30, yeah you know the one. Nor am I concerned about the sometimes over-the-top action sequences. All of those things are parts of the MGS pathos. What I didn't like about MGSV is the feeling of futility, that nothing you did actually mattered because the fate of almost everyone was already decided to begin with.
During Chapter 1, this was OK, because you felt you were just B.B and his Diamond Bros on a quest for revenge. But once this revenge was accomplished, Chapter 2 felt... I don't have the right words to describe it. I won't say "tacked on" because the story on it is absolutely necessary to understand the rest of the game, and it has some of the best sequences (Quiet CQCing a whole soviet squad to oblivion. Elli narmily hijacking the Saelanthropus (FATHERRRRR!!), Venom waxing poetic on his fallen comrades...). But the problem is, nothing of that really mattered at that point. TPP has both the best and the most inconsequential postgame.
I don't think a Chapter 3 would have helped things. I think that if the game was only Chapter 1 and included some highlights of Chapter 2, including a revamped ending, it would have been a perfectly sound and round MGS game. As it stands, though, TPP is definitely one of the best games ever made, but I question how necessary was it to the MGS canon.
ED: You will notice I haven't touched the subject of V being sort-of-a memetic clone of the real B.B. This is because I don't think it's a real problem and I sort of like Venom being his own brand of badass.
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