And wrapped up Nioh Saturday night with a couple of dedicated hours, taking care of both the side missions AND the main story line mode all the way to the end. I took down 2 twilight missions and did not touch any of NG+ but I think I got my fix out of this, totaling 63% of the trophies. Altogether, a quality game throughout as I expected after playing the Alpha of this a little less than 1 year ago and this is going to be a very strong candidate for 2017 GOTY when we look back at things. In hindsight, I am glad Persona 5 got pushed back until April as it allowed me to sink my claws deep into this game and for the little less than 2 weeks that this game occupied my utmost attention, I felt this game gave far more good than bad.
Positives:
- Deep combat system. I basically used the axe and at times cheesed with it along with some magic and ninjitsu spells but surely there's so much more you can do with in this game. Very fluid combat style, very responsive combat style(Choose 60 FPS over better graphics), everything just feels so crisp. I think it is on Bloodborne's level of high pace, fast movement style of combat, if there's a game best to compare this to it would be Bloodborne which was masterful from a combat perspective(For me at least). You can get a good amount of ninja skills AND magic skills at your arsenal and you add a splice of guardian spirit and some items to help tilt the cards in your favor, and what you have is a game that can be played and beaten with many possibilities.
- Lengthy game albeit there can be some repetition in the side missions as you are essentially just backtracking a mission only this time you often are starting from the bosses room and working your way backwards for the goal in mine. You feel like you are getting your money's worth with the length of this game and the different amounts of level and exploration throughout. Now unlike with Souls games, there's no connection between levels so it isn't a case of Metroidvania where you explore and than end up stumbling a big shortcut to a previous level but the game hits it on home with the hub of each world.
- 60 FPS for a game like this is something not to be taken back by....I feel often that I died because I made a mistake and there was no slowdown that caused me to mess up. I felt in complete control in my actions and decisions, which is how it should be with a game like this. Game is also very fair with it's shortcuts and passageways that aren't too daunting for me to retrace your footsteps after a death.
- It keeps the real balance and joy Soulsbourne games give you while having it's own touch with the kodama minions which allow you to feast on additional items, elixirs(My choice always), weapons, amrita and gold.....and the different fighting stances in high, mid and low that give you so many fall back plans in tight and close combat where one mistake can cost you it all. It borrows the good from the series but it does not outright rip it off by any means which is absolutely important worth note.
Negatives:
- Biggest gripe I found myself if giving you 500 items to carry which to me is ridiculously low given you have 5 sets of armor, relic equipment AND items all included together. Often, I found myself offering equipment that I wasn't sure if they were one of a kind or not, just on the basis of getting more room to pick up items at stages. I could not put armor at the warehouse too which I don't quite understand the thought process, I would have simply dumped those one of a kind costumes to storage to open up more space. You get elixirs(Which is key) in these offering along with amrita(EXP) so not all hope was lost but it was a killjoy having to go and look at the worst equipment and just sell it off. My idea was if it wasn't good enough to wear, that I needed to clear the space for it.
- Enemy design/boss design is lacking and I think you can count on both your hands how many DIFFERENT enemies there are in this game. Hate to compare it to Dark Souls in this regard, but pretty much each world in Dark Souls had enemies with different battle styles that it was refreshing to see what FROM Software could come up with in each world when getting engulfed in each area. With this, I am not exaggerating in saying that you fight one boss maybe 9 times if you do all the side missions and main missions....and nothing changes in any of these fights except phase one is done away with for some of these battles. Felt kinda lame to not see any changeup with enemies in this game, even the bosses late in the game sort of borrowed from one another for the most part give or take 2-3 moves.
- If you aren't reading the descriptions prior to the levels and cutscenes, you will get somewhat lost with the story as it really goes all over the place but I think I sort of get the thought process but I think it could have been told better. You really have to read the descriptions during the loading screens and see every dead body's left behind's to get a better idea of what each level represented during this timeline and why it created a character.
- Music soundtrack sans 1-2 songs were lackluster and didn't give off a real triumph feel, especially when it comes to boss battles. It wasn't an awful soundtrack BUT it was lacking a real standout song that games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne put forth out there. The music fit the time line and everything but I wish it was done better.
Recommendation: Yay or Nay
Oh yeah, def. recommend this, especially if you at all appreciate the Dark Souls series or just a game with a great combat system.The game all around is a real joy to play and I knew after playing all of the Alpha, Beta and Last Chance demos that this was an easy Day one pick up for me and I knew this game would be very good, not just as a Soulsbourne inspired type of game BUT as a stand alone title. I haven't even divulged into the co-op of this game or collected every single Kodama but I felt the game had enough challenge for me to not feel overwhelmed by any level at some point. I even 1 if not 2 shotted bosses towards the end of the game, including the final boss that I took down in my 1st try!
Technically my first cheat, but I feel very confident and at ease with this decision, so there you go.
9. Nioh
~26 Hours
Incredible combat but lacks basically in everything else for me personally - stuff that elevated my alltime fav Bloodborne e.g. to another level. But I do not regret my time with Nioh at all. Stress at university/work soured me on such a punishing experience for right now, tho and today it made click - "You know what? I'm done with this and still leave quite satisfied overall". Maybe I return in the future, but for now, this post probably helps closing the book. 4/5
14. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (~20 hours)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a cyberpunk game about the ethics of augmenting humans with machine upgrades. As far as AAA games go, it's definitely a gamble plotwise. But where the game really shines is it's play-how-you-want gameplay.
The game takes place in the not too distant future, and people can be augmented, becoming part human part machine. There's a massive divide in society between those who have been augmented and those who haven't. Those who have been augmented are upper class citizens. The augmentation is done by private corporations. You are Adam Jensen, an ex-SWAT police officer working for one of these corporations, Serif Industries, in security. Your girlfriend, Megan, discovers a breakthrough in human augmentation and gets kidnapped by a competing organization that wants the research for their own.
It's not that the plot is bad, it's the delivery of the lines, and the lines themselves. The writing is just so poor. This really stands out, as it's in contrast to the last game I played, Shadowrun Returns, which has some of the best writing I've ever read in a game. In Human Revolution, every line is delivered with the utmost seriousness. I don't remember a single joke. Also, the characters are generally unlikeable. The writing often resorts to swearing to increase the impact of the lines, which strikes me as lazy. If I hadn't just played such a well-written game, maybe I wouldn't feel so strongly, but I was often eager for the characters to stop talking so I could get to the good parts of the game -- the gameplay.
The gameplay is not nearly as bad as the ham-handed story. You can play the game like a cover based shooter or you can play it like a stealth game. There are times when an area is flooded with enemies, and your best bet is to take them out one by one, using your hands, and hiding the bodies. Other times it's better to just shoot at everyone until the floor is clear. Ammo is pretty scarce, so that influences how you decide to play. Choosing how to go about getting through an enemy infested room is one of the most fun things about Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Enemy AI isn't that smart, and generally gets into a routine of getting closer to you and farther away when they know you're in the room. Because of this, you can sort of line them up like ducks and take them out one at a time. There is some complexity though. There are robots, that take a lot of ammo to take down (and as such, are best avoided) and patrol the floors. There are also heavy guards that don't go down easy. You may get the Game Over screen a lot, but you can make it through each level once you get the pattern down. Later in the game, you can do cool things depending on how you upgrade your character, like knock down walls or walk on an electrified floor.
So... there's an upgrade system in the game. Basically, you can enhance your augmentations, so you can, for example, lift heavier objects or carry more items. These are the (here it is) RPG-elements of the game. If you do all the side quests, you should be able to upgrade quite a bit, as that gives you the experience points needed to do so. Sadly, toward the end of the game, I was required to have at least one upgrade I didn't have to make progress, and had to reload an earlier save to get the XP needed to go down that upgrade path in order to finish the game. It could have been a lot worse, but that certainly isn't great game design. Also, the game heavily favors those who upgrade their hacking ability, as hacking things is a major part of the last third of the game. Again, I would have liked if this were handled better, like rewarding all upgrade paths more evenly.
Boss fights are generally pretty challenging. I found it helped to save early and often after making a bit of progress during a battle. Most of the fights involve hitting the enemy with as much ammo as possible until they fall over. If nothing else, boss fights break up the monotony of taking out guards. That said, the boss fights are really nothing special. I understand the fights were outsourced to another studio, which may explain why they don't live up to the rest of the gameplay.
I played with a Steam Controller (a trend in my recent gaming history) and it worked out great. The developers of the game included support for the Steam Controller, and this is the first game I played where that was the case. Controls feel natural, as a result. Also, despite the game crashing on me a couple times, this is a most excellent PC port. My machine is sort of like a high end version of a previous gen console, and I experienced no slowdown or major buggy-ness.
Despite poorly delivered dialog, and also my general distaste for shooters (all those slain bodies!), Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a good game. It can't possibly live up to the legacy of the original game (which is still on my backlog, despite hearing wonderful things), but for those itching for an action game with RPG elements and a cool aesthetic, I can recommend Deus Ex: Human Revolution with a thumbs up. 4/5
I never got around to playing the first Gothic game because the controls really turned me off. I finally overcame this breaking point and actually finished the game. The first chapters are a real treat. You get to explore the island, solve its different quests in whatever way you want and kill literally every animal in sight for precious experience points. Sadly enough the game starts to deteriorate in later chapters. Skill points become less valuable, monsters become easier to kill and your fiercest foe will be bugs and crashes. Also the pacing drops off a cliff with several fetch-heavy quests including one in the middle of the final dungeon. Still, it is clear that Gothic 1 has a lot of (unfulfilled) potential lying underneath all of its complications and inconveniences.
Took me about 60 hours to beat the main game. I hadn't done almost half of the Side stories, but I still had a blast playing it.
Getting the final skills requires lots of investing though @o@
My GotY 2017 for the time being otherwise.
Game 11: Tomb of the Mask (Android) 02/02/17 - 16/02/17
I consider this game complete because I've finished all 65 levels with all stars and dots collected but more could be coming in the near future. The game reminds me of Pacman with traps, enemies and powerups combined together but you gotta reach to an end point in each level. I found it pretty fun and sometimes quite challenging, perfect game to play on the go.
Game 12: Epistory - Typing Chronicles (PC) 18/02/17 - 19/02/17 5.4 Hours
This is my favourite typing game I've played so far IMO. An action-adventure RPG where you control the whole game with only your keyboard. Everything about the game is awesome.
2nd time I've beaten and played this game, the first had me 100% it solo near release in 2013. I liked 3D World then but wasn't enamored by it, and while I still wouldn't say I am, I've come to appreciate it much more in co-op. That's mainly due to the over-sized terrain and platforms which in single player eliminated a lot of the actual satisfaction of platforming, but in co-op a lot of that satisfaction gets returned since the bigger space properly accommodates multiple players. I also forgot about the sheer amount of ingenuity and variety on display in 3D World, and it tends to make up for the game's lack of gratifying platforming and challenge. It also still looks great and the soundtrack is fantastic. Overall it's a very good game, but I still wouldn't quite put it up there with my favorite mainline Marios, 3D or 2D.
Game #15: Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (Wii U) / 2.8.17 / 12.5 hours / 2 Playthroughs (NG, NG+), 100% completion, all challenges
I wasn't sure if I would like this, there seemed to be some mixed reactions about how Plague Knight controlled and how well he fit slapped into Shovel Knight's levels. It turns out controlling PK is a total blast when you get acclimated with him, and he works brilliantly within most of the game. The hold attack -> jump -> release attack -> jump movement loop is immensely gratifying, and combined with the ability to chuck bombs out of harm's way at enemies from an angle makes for some truly addicting gameplay. The various new powers and bomb combinations keep things interesting as well, at the cost of the slight extra tedium that is switching loadouts and powers. There were a few areas that really didn't jell well with PK, but for the most part his well-implemented aerial move set made up for whatever issues the old levels cause. I liked this a hell of a lot and I'm really looking forward to Specter Knight's campaign.
Game #16: Pikmin (GCN , Dolphin) / 2.11.17 / 8 hours / All ship parts
I haven't played this since I was a kid back in 2001/2002, and I never actually beat it back then. After playing Pikmin 3 a couple years ago and really enjoying it, a revisit was in the backlog. I finally got around to it, and wouldn't you know Pikmin still really holds up. The levels provide a mix of linear and non-linear design and are perfect for making a plan of attack and executing it. Managing to grab 2 or even 3 parts in a day provides an immensely satisfying payoff to exploration, understanding of mechanics, and your skills when it comes to commanding and maneuvering the Pikmin. Tension is retained through the short days (though the 30-day goal is very lenient) and the fact one bad misstep can mean a ton of adorable Pikmin lost. It's fun and despite technically being an RTS, it plays like almost nothing else out there.
There are some parts of Pikmin that aged poorly or are just questionable, like not being able to switch between colors easily, Pikmin randomly tripping, control of large groups being finicky, etc.. I'm also a dum dum who didn't realize there was a Wii version until after I finished playing, but whatever. Overall Pikmin is great and I'll definitely get around to 2nd one within the next couple months.
Game #17: Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) / 2.19.17 / 4 hours / All levels in normal worlds
Felt like replaying this after 3D World for a fun comparison, and like World I had 100%'d this previously and did all the special worlds. This time I decided to just breeze through, although I made sure to get most star coins I came across. Land easily has more satisfying platforming than world, thanks it to being designed solely for one person and utilizing enough verticality to give you a tickle of vertigo. I'd say about everything else is kind of trumped by World though (except both offer a low level of difficulty). Especially noticeable is the 30 fps, which is unfortunate and makes the limited analog control stand out even more. While the level design is good and varied, thematically and visually they aren't nearly as striking or memorable World's offerings, and the game is missing the new power-ups and consistently flashy soundtrack as well.
So as to which one I think is better, it's close as they both kind of excel at different things, but I think it goes to World regardless if playing solo or coop. Strangely enough I used to think the opposite, so I'm glad I played both nearly back to back to re-evaluate things.
Game #18: Dr. Luigi (Wii U) / 2.19.17 / 5.5 hours / Cleared on every mode (levels 0-20)
So for single player this game has 3 modes; retro remedy which plays like classic Dr. Mario, Operation L which is like classic but you only have pills fall in L shapes like the screenshot, and Virus Buster, where you can play on the gamepad vertically and use touch controls to pull down and place the pills at will. I originally got this for retro mode as I just wanted it for that classic Dr. Mario gameplay, or at least that's what I thought. My memory is hazy though, and it turns out regular Dr. Mario is kind of mediocre especially considering the competition in this genre. I actually ended up really liking the virus buster mode, especially for the fact when 4 pill pieces are connected you get to grab and move the leftovers that fall off. The absurd amount of control it gives to just move the pills around works surprisingly well when used with the falling piece structure of the game. Operation L is pretty good as well, providing faster gameplay by being able to throw down 3 same colored pill pieces at a time.
Beat the game as Yunica on Hard. Decided to play this to tide the time til Hollow Knight releases and because of the release of the game on PS4. Hard was doable, but it can get grindy a bit if you don't have the right abilities learned and if bosses don't take too much damage form your attacks.
Non the less I still enjoyed it at its best.
Can totally do this. Let's do it. One game a week. Come on. (Reservation post.)
1: Watch_Dogs 2 (PS4) - 9/10 - 25+ hours - 100% main story
Excellent, excellent game. One of the best open world games I've ever played, even if the campaign missions overstay their welcome a little (and get obscenely hard on highest difficulty). Will be high on my GotY list.
2: Dishonored 2 - PC - 9/10 - 16+ hours - 100% main story, replayed to 33% twice w/ modifiers
Incredible work. Truly incredible. My GotY 2016. So much depth, flexibility, freedom. Great sandboxes everywhere. Plus probably the greatest "time travel" mission of all time, IMO.
3: Gravity Rush Remastered - PS4 - 7/10 - 20 hours - 100% main story
Fantastic work. The end is pretty abrupt in terms of story, but if you treat it as 'act 1' of the story that will get continued/finished in Gravity Rush 2, it is absolutely perfect. Really sets the scene and leaves you with some questions. The Gravity Shifting mechanics are phenomenal and almost every gameplay scenario is well thought out. A couple of combat mechanics are a bit iffy, I think it would benefit from wider FOV or more distant camera to help you keep your bearings, and the zooming Shift attack is often irritatingly innacurate. The whole package is fantastic, though.
4. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone - PS4 - 9/10 - some 30 hours
5. Mafia 3 - PS4 - 8/10 - some 20 hours
Really good, fantastic story and writing that really understands what's important, but a bit too much content padding the story out. If they cut a third of the game's obligatory, near-grindey content away and made the remaining content more dynamic/interesting, this would have been a 9 or 10/10.
Bloody fantastic as always. Delving deep into the history and situation of a couple of great characters made this so immersive and compelling. Pity more areas weren't added. Now I'm on Blood and Wine and... touissaint omg
Game #29 - Hot Tin Roof The Cat That Wore a Fedora
Time: 4 hours
Man what a huge dissapointment this turned out to be. A 2d side scrolling adventure about a series of cases you and your cat partner need to solve in a cool noir-ish hgumsho detective setting. The ame felt super janky from the start but I was able to voerlook it becaus eI was into the adventure part and the writing, but about halfway through it starts to rely more on actual paltforming and it just falls apart because, it just plays horribly. It also gets super confusing near the end, so much so that the devs had to patch in a way to bypass something near the end (you can buy an item to do it), thats how fucked it gets. Real shame because I was super into it in the first couple of hours.
Game #30 - Spaceport Hope
Time: 4.5 hours
Short but neat little metroidvania, with what seems to be a big focus on collecting stuff because there was a lot of zones I ended up not even going to, because the game just abrubtly ended. Still, for $1 (or 25cents currently on sale lol), its quite good for what you pay, the graphics are pixel art-y, kinda rekind me of cave story, there's lots of weapons, the story is weak but thats not really the focus of these games in the end. Far from the best of the genre, still, if you are a metroidvania nut and want another one, its notterrible.
Game #31 - Titanis
Time: 2.5 hours
Mediocre 2d sidescrolling shooting game with a cool skill tree with various powers to get and a varety of levels with objectives and side objectives to complete. The whole thing feels like a flash game, from the looks to how it plays, but I give it credit for trying at least, it has a little post apocalypse story going on, like I said the skill tree is cool, and its perfectly playable, its just...not very good. Its short tho, so theres that. Im stuck in this streak of short, not very good games because I dont want to start anything big before Hollow Knight, and its kinda bumming me out lol.
11. Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (1 hour)
Here's a cool little arcade beat-em-up with light RPG elements. Quite challenging, must've been a hell of a quarter-muncher back in the day, but I had a good time with it.
6. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine - PS4 - 9/10 - some 12 hours
Unfortunately I rushed this to clear the backlog, but it was bloody glorious as always. The main quest line felt a bit more like an adventure than Hearts of Stone's one and the plot development of getting your own land was fantastic. Going to a legit fairytale land was absolutely one of my favourite segments from the entire series. Just brilliant.
Literally all I did was mainline the quest and even that was money's worth. Incredibly satisfying payoff by playing politics carefully (it's clear where things can go very, very badly) and great characters, acting, etc. Just brilliant.
My only beef was that the combat on Death March! difficulty becomes pretty unfair. The combat was getting so frustrating that I bumped the game to Easy just to power through it. First time I've done that since Wolfenstein: The New Order.
Still, a phenomenal game and probably the best expansion of all time IMO.
Im stuck in this streak of short, not very good games because I dont want to start anything big before Hollow Knight, and its kinda bumming me out lol.
I'm right there with you guys. I've been thinking about playing Guacamelee or even replaying Ori recently but didn't want to risk burning myself out on the sub-genre before playing Hollow Knight.
An adventure that did not pass the test of time. Released in 2002, the game has poor graphics nowadays and if you tab out, there will a lot of (funny) graphical glitches. But the game shines at its writing. The characters are well written and this kept me playing the game. It was also a good time because Syberia 3 is coming in the next months.
I'm right there with you guys. I've been thinking about playing Guacamelee or even replaying Ori recently but didn't want to risk burning myself out on the sub-genre before playing Hollow Knight.
actually I booted up Reverse Crawl now and this one actually seems really cool, hopefully it holds up
edit: it did
Game #32 - Reverse Crawl
Time: 2.5 hours
This is more like it! Don't let the awful name fool you, this is a super fun little strategy rpg, with a ton of different units, great art style, and doesnt overstay its welcome. The battles remind me alot of the King's Bounty series, if a little more simplefied. There is a NG+ and a endless mode when you finish (a campaign isnt very long, 2-3 hours at most). I had a great time with it and would recomend it to anyone that likes the Kings Bounty or just strategy rogs in general.
8. Little Big planet 3 : I'm not really interested in the creating side of this series but I enjoy the platforming and I used this as a way for my 3 year old daughter to get using a controller for some basic movements. It really is more of the same but the different characters give it a nice variation. It is very short and although I only played the main story and a few side missions it is over very quickly and you don't really get to use the other characters much at all. I would be very disappointed if I had bought it. But free on plus seems OK.
A charming (if somewhat flawed) physics-based platformer.
Enjoyed the game for the most part, and the messages it presented were very heartfelt.
Aiming to finish by March:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3)
Furi (PS4)
Recently acquired:
Nioh
Gravity Rush 2
Notes:
Making slow but steady progress with Nioh.
GR2 has taken a back seat for now, but when I'm in the mood it's awesome.
Decided on a healthy "One Boss Per Day" diet with Furi.
8. Little Big planet 3 : I'm not really interested in the creating side of this series but I enjoy the platforming and I used this as a way for my 3 year old daughter to get using a controller for some basic movements. It really is more of the same but the different characters give it a nice variation. It is very short and although I only played the main story and a few side missions it is over very quickly and you don't really get to use the other characters much at all. I would be very disappointed if I had bought it. But free on plus seems OK.
May I ask how it went with your daughter? My son is still only 2, and I'm not even playing games in front of him yet, but I'm always on the lookout for titles that can introduce children to games slowly and gently.
Whilst initially fun the combat mechanics dull quickly. For an iPhone game the graphics are great but the sound design leaves a lot to be desired with no weapon sounds at all! A decent game to fill a couple of hours but lacks the depth to be anything more than that.
2. Monument Valley - 2h 26m - 8/10
Beautiful little puzzle game with some extremely clever level design, Chapter 8 being the highlight for me. Puzzles were just the right amount of difficulty for me personally. I'll come back to play Forgotten Shores for sure.
9. The Order:1886 : Got this at launch and played a few chapters before going back to destiny. This game is absolutely stunning. The world that has been built is fantastic and it is such a shame that it is let down by the actual gameplay. The shooting and cover system is not good. The frequent QTEs are well implemented but still annoying and I would rather they weren't there at all. The story line is enjoyable and the characters are interesting. It is a massive shame that more wasn't done with this world. I hope there is a sequel that can bring us back to this world but with some actual gameplay.
May I ask how it went with your daughter? My son is still only 2, and I'm not even playing games in front of him yet, but I'm always on the lookout for titles that can introduce children to games slowly and gently.
She loved decorating the pod and picking a design for sack boy. She got a bit frustrated with the actual game after 20 mins or so. She enjoyed making sack boy run from side to side and jump. She was just struggling with combining jumping and moving at the same time. It is one of the more kid friendly games around and I think it's good for introducing some very basic movements and just getting them used to the cause and effect of the controller. She's played lots of touch screen kids games and likes them but with the controllers being so big it's a bit harder for her to reach certain button combinations.
Haha I appreciate what you're saying, but I reserved a post ages ago when the thread started. If I don't use that, then it's a dead post so thought I may as well.
EDIT: Spose I coulda posted the above into the original post but I wanted to create a new one for consistency as I'll be doing that with all my other completions going forward.
Haha I appreciate what you're saying, but I reserved a post ages ago when the thread started. If I don't use that, then it's a dead post so thought I may as well.
EDIT: Spose I coulda posted the above into the original post but I wanted to create a new one for consistency as I'll be doing that with all my other completions going forward.
I don't get what Rhaknar is saying at all.
You did like most other people did. I see nothing wrong with your posts. Claim a master post, update it for every update but also post a separate update post for every update to keep the thread going. This is the very idea of the thread.
Either you claim a master post when you post the first update or you do it beforehand, it doesn't really matter. I claim a separate master post first because I want the master post to be a list only and the update posts to include my thoughts on the games, like it seems you do too!
Hmm I guess I need a second main post already lol. This be it then. Main Post 1 is here.
Game #33 - Dustoff Heli Rescue
Time: 4 hours
This was a great take on the old Choplifter formula, with a good variety of levels and an awesome voxel-y / minecraft inspired artstyle. 25 levels where you have to either rescue soldiers or lift cargo back to base, the controls are super simple (you can actually use "pro" controls but I actually feel the simple controls and auto fire work in the game's favor), the art style is gorgeous like I said, the soundtrack is action movie esque and the sounds are great (I love the radio chatter), its just a really fun little game. Apparently there is a sequel on mobile (this one is also clearly a mobile game originally) and I really hope it comes to PC also. Great surprise.
Game #34 - Plug & Play
Time: 12 minutes
Super short abstract...thing. Its hard to explain. The art style and animations are great and its worth playing just for that, and for the utter nonsense and weirdness I guess.
Game #35 - The Music Machine
Time: 1.2 hours
Another short narrative game, I wouldnt really call it a walking simulator since there are some puzzles and quite a bit of interaction, but I would still put it in the same genre as Gone Home, Stanley Parable and what not. Anyway, I actually really enjoyed this one, the story is both creepy and heartwarming, the visuals are very striking and unsettling, and the whole thing just feels less abstract that a lot of these usually turn out, even tho its quite abstract on its own. I'm not sure if I would go as far as to call it a horror game but its certainly creepy and unsettling. If you like the genre you should give it a go, especially sicne you can finihs it in about 1 hour or hour and half.
Game #36 - Lit
Time: 1 hour
Super short trial and error puzzle game about light manipultion, a port from the iOS version instead of the superior Wii version unfortunately. 16 levels, that you can perfect to get a "good" ending (just a different screen at the end really) but it needs both speed and the amount of exact "steps" to get it, and I hve zero intrest in doing that, I already solved the 16 puzzles. Its not a bad idea but its way too short, these types of games usually have like 50 or 60 levels, not 16. At least it was free from Gamepump (lol).
Game #37 - Hollow Knight
Time: 33 hours
One of the best games I've played in years, if not ever. It is the best "metroidvania" since Symphony of the Night, it is a gigantic, beautiful, intriguing, complex adventure with a ton of maps, ridiculous amoun of enemy vriety, dozens of bosses, a ton of upgrades and powers, a ton of Dark Souls style of story telling, npcs, quests and shit that only crazy would find out how to do, simply put, it will most likely be my Game of the Year, and its absolutely insane that it costs $15. It puts most indie devs and publishers out there to shame, its embarassing that $20 is the norm these days for 3 hour simple games, and these guys did what they did. This one, this one is special.
Game #38 - The Bug Butcher
Time: 3 hours
This was a big disapointment because you look at pictures and it looks like a cool sidescrolling shooter in the vein of a Contra or Metal Slug, but what it actually is, is a arena based shooter where you are stuck in a small room and have to beat all the enemies in time before the clock runs out. There are several upgrades a powerups you can get, and its not bad for what it is, but after clearing the 30 arcade mdoe levels I had no desire to go back and get better scores or even play the Panic mode which is a survival style mode where enemies drop coins that increase your timer, but it just recycles the arcade mode levels. Looks pretty at least tho.
Game #39 - Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey Remastered
Time: 9 hours
Super fun word adventure game where you have to spell words to attack enemies. Various upgrades and equipment to buy and a lenghty campaign with lots of optional objectives in each level to do makes this a great little time waster. I played most of it at work, and got about 2/3 of the stars (you can replay levels with different goals like have a set time limit or only use certain letters), I was actually getting all of them until halfway through when I just decided to go ahead and finish the campaign because, well, as fun as it was, I had gotten all I was going to get out of the game by that point. Still, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected.
Game #40 - Echoes of Aetheria
Time: 21 hours
Man such mixed feelings in this. For the first half of the game, the game was really good, and it was restoring my faith in RPG Maker games (or at least make me think twice about outright dismissing them), the story was quite well done, the writing was ok if a little amateurish, but it had heart, but the start was easily the combat system, as it uses a isometric, turn based system quite unlike ive seen in other rpg makers. It also has a lot of original art which I apreciated. But then the second half, it all falls apart, especially near the end where the game has a ridiculous and inexlicable difficulty spike, so much so that I had to drop down to easy in the final dungeon, and even then I cant kill the last boss no matter how much I tru, it has a ridiculous amount of OHKOs and you cant do anything. I tried loking at some videos and I guess people had to grind out a lot to get much higher level, because they have a lot more health than me (and my team is in their 60s), but thats just horrible design because nothing in the game until then requires it. So yeah, I just cant be arsed with that type of horseshit, and im going to call it at the "bad ending" that you get for losing to the boss. Super disapointed, especially after loving the first half.
Game #41 - Horizon Zero Dawn
Time: 50 hours
Fantastic open world action adventure (or rpg if you want to call it that), one of those games you struggle to find bad things to say about without nitpicking. Fantastic visuals, super fun gameplay, ton of content, shockingly good writing and story, some of the best voice cting Ive heard in a game, just overall a great package and a great game. Will easily be in my Top 10 for the year, if not top 5.
Game #42 - Stories Untold
Time: 3 hours
Very cool little horror adventure that mixes old school text adventures with some code based puzzles all wrapped around in a 80s horror package. The writing is great and its genuilly creepy at times, but mechanically it has some problems, like for example the text adventure parser being very limited, or the game running poorly when you have some limited command over it, even tho its not exactly a looker. Still, its very much worth playing especially if you like different kinds of experiences, like a Pony Island for example.
Game #43 - Nier Automata
Time: 34 hours
Great game that, for me, falls short of amazing because of some design flaws, mainly its pacing
I think Route B should simply not exist for example
, it would have been an amazing 20 hour game in my opinion. Still, great gameplay that Platinum has gotten us used to, amazing soundtrack and fantastic story that touches on themes most games dont dare make up for one hell of a game and easily one of the best of the year.
Game #44 - The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
Time 70 Hours
Fantastic game top to bottom, a game that I feel finally makes real the "you can go anyware" and "create your own journey" taglines that many games have used over the years. That the dungeons not being particularly inspired in a Zelda game doesnt make it any less outstanding is a testament to how good the open world stuff they crafted is. Gorgeous visuals, great soundtrack, amazing gameplay, I dont believe in perfect games, or hyperbole filled "greatest of all time" shit, but its certainly very very good and will probably end up as my game of the year (sorry Hollow Knight).
Game #45 - Persona 5
Time: 112.5 hours
Holy shit what a game, the race to GOTY this year is ridiculous for me. Probably my favorite jrpg ever, just a fantastic game all around, with very small nitpicks keeping it from being just perfect. Great battle system, awesome story, great characters, absolutely fantastic visuals and the best sense of style I've ever seen in a game. And if you want to talk about value, well... 112 hours. This was my first Persona game, and I already rushed and bought P4G and will almost certainly be getting whatever they make next judging from this.
Game #46 - Path of Exile
Time: 12 hours
12 hours to "finish" the campaign, which in these types of games is all but meaningless because the whole point is replaying in higher difficulties and grind for loot, but at the same time I feel like I got all I was going to get out of the game. Dont get me wrong, thats not a slight on the game itself, it seems like a excellent one of those and I can totally see why its popular, but like I said, I got all I was going to get out of it.
Game #47 - Leap of Fate
Time: 9 hours
Fantastic rogue-like, a futuristic-fantasy action game, basically a top down dual stick shooter in randomly generated levels with a little story campaign to go through and unlock new characters and costumes. Tons of special powers to collect, characters feel unique and each have their own skill trees, the "card game" meta is great (the whole thing feels like what Hand of Fate should have been), great gameplay and visuals, just a really fun game that is very easy to play in short bursts. I didnt finish all the character campaigns (they dont really change, its always the same set of 6 levels) but I got to a point where it was just more of the same, so I got my moneys worth out of it. If you catch it in a bundle be sure to give it a spin.
Game #48 - Headlander
Time: 6 hours
Cool little "metroidvania" with fantastic art and voice acting. The maps are good and the head swapping mechanic is neat, but I felt like 90% of the upgrades I got I never used, which was a bummer. The story is also gibebrish, but if you are a fan of the genre is deffinately worth playing, especially since its not very long.
Game #49 - Squarecells
Time: 7 hours
Another one in the 'Cells puzzle game series, this one most resembling actual sudoku. As usual, fantastic puzzle game, I only wish it had a bit more rules (its missing some of the classic Picross rules that make it akward to figure out sometimes). Still, if you liked the others, this will be up your alley.
Game #50 - The Final Station
Time: 4 hours
What a fantastic little game. A 2D side scrolling shooter / survival hybrid in a terrific sci-fi horror setting that subverts the zombie apocalypse theme with some fantastic writing and visuals. The story gets a little surreal (and honestly, incomprehensible) but its a joy to play, the systems are very cool, as stated the pixel art is fantastic, great level design, just a great game all around. I wish it was a little longer because it felt like the game could have done more with the systems it gave us. Still, highly recomended.
Game #51 - Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Time: A lot...
I'll finish off the list for now with a couple of games that dont really end, but that I spent more time with this year than most other games combined. Starting off with my return to Heroes of the Storm with the new 2.0 update, this continues to be the one and only moba I am interested in. 2.0 brought great changes to the loot system, and the game continues to pump out new heroes and maps regularly, as expected from Blizzard's support with their games. At the moment of writing I am once again taking a break from the game, but it will continue to be a staple of my yearly gaming for a long time.
Game #52 - World of Warcraft Legion
Time: Again, a lot...
I resubbed to Legion recently with patch 7.2.5 for 1 month, and I proceeded to have probably my most profitable month in the game in a long time. I had a blast, leveled almost all the classes to max level (very easy to do with the new Invasions), played around with various specs, finished all the class campaigns, got all the new class mounts, and once I had done all that, I felt like I had gotten my "money's worth" more than i've ever felt. I had a goal with this resub and I completely completed my goal, it was such a great feeling. Legion is fantastic at being alt friendly, and it continues to be probably my favorite wow expansion. It was probably my swan song with it until the next one, but man it sure was fun. I like this new super casual, "get in get out" way of looking at WoW to be quite frank.
Game #53 - Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
Time: 45 hours
What a weird game... on one hand its a huge disapointment with its tiny roster, new chracters locked behind DLC, sub-par visuals (alrhough I dont think they are THAT bad) and the miriad of other issues everyone knows by now. On the other hand, its super fun to play, the story mode is alright for what it is, and it has plenty of game modes and fantastic online. Unfortunately, its another fighting game in a long line of "ok this is the one im going to really practice and get good at" only to give up 1 week later. Sigh, I'll never learn, I'm sure ill do the exact same thing with DBZF lol.
Game #54 - Battle Chasers Nightwar
Time: 39 hours
Fantastic jrpg-like from the mind of Joe Madureira (you know, the Darksiders guy), this little gem really delivered on everything I love about the genre mixed with Joe Mad's usual style of world building (it really feels like Darksiders in a fantasy setting). One of the best combat systems I've ever played in a jrpg-style game, the amount of systems that interwine to make combat feel super satisfying, and upgrading your party members with builds that suit your needs is fantastic. Story is alright, prety much your standard fantasy "rag tag group of adventurers vs evil doer" fare, but it looks SUPER pretty (both in combat and especially when you are exploring the various dungeons and whatnot. A ton of systems like crafting (meaningful crafting!), fishing, various side bosses and activities, really well made secret side quests and shit, make this a overall amazing package. This might be hyperbole but it did for jrpgs what Hollow Knight did for metroidvanias. What can I say, I loved it. Bring on the sequel (pretty please, dont let that cliffhanger hang Joe)
Blog: So, it's weird, but I'm actually partly regretting taking on this challenge. On one hand, it has kept me focused on completing games and caused me to organize myself in a way I never have before; no more trying to juggle 3 games at once and failing to complete any of them or purchasing games at a high price then just shelving it. On the other, it has opened up a love for lengthy CRPGs with deep lore, which are of course time-consuming. As a person who doesn't have a lot of time on his hands (full-time work and part-time graduate), it's tougher to complete that genre of games without the time to invest while trying to complete a certain amount in a year. That said, I graduate in May, so I will definitely have a lot more time on my hands and hopefully I can channel that into these lengthier games (and, well, a lot of other games not gaming-related).
10. Mass Effect 3 38 hours
In spite of its faults, this is my favorite of the ME games by a landslide and that's saying a lot. The combat was fine-tuned to perfection. The interactions were meaningful without having to frame them around loyalty missions like in 2. They did away with the paragon system (thank god). There were just so many fixes and tweaks to the formula that made this experience one I wanted to continue with, so much so I spent a bunch of time doing side things and the DLC. Citadel is one of my favorite DLC packs. Needless to say, I'll be revisiting this series again in the future to play things out differently (with a lot of mods), even if my initial play through 1 wasn't all that great. I think it'd actually be better with M+KB than controller now that I know better, but we'll see. 10/10
11. SUPERHOT 3 hours
The concept of the game is stellar and the framing device for the plot is pretty cool (if not very creepy). The whole thing is pretty awesome except for the fact that some of the "puzzles" are really hard. I spent 20 minutes on a few of them because I kept dying. It's kind of frustrating, despite being such an interesting premise for a game. Regardless, I enjoyed the time I spent with it a good deal. 9/10
I really enjoy what NetheRealm's bring to the table in their fighting games. Certainly more so than Capcom's offerings. I like how you can jump right in and not need to know all of the juggling mechanics and combos, which I think kills the Street Fighter series for a fighting noob like me. The story mode is again, Hollywood-esque and this really got me excited for Injustice 2.
9/10
Like The Order 1886, this game would be dreadful getting for 60 dollars(Though there's more replay value) but getting that at almost 1/10 of the cost? Much better.
The game has so much potential man, like I can absolutely see the promise in it. I don't get the game being lifeless at all, do not get that gripe in the least bit. Game is colorful, has it's own charm, the platform sections that it does have are actually Cerny goodness and the game gives you solid length for a platformer. Game is no pushover as well. It was so frustrating playing this game because I knew this game was a launch title and kind of knew this was a game to have for the debut of the PS4 to give buyers something to buy so I knew this was not going to be fully polished and my 3rd complaint can be excused for this very reason so the fact that there is a sequel sort of gives me hope that Cerny and company may learn from the flaws of the 1st game and build upon that, which gives me reason to think the sequel could be solid if not very good.
Big Knack is so much fun, you feel so powerful and it gave you almost a Godzilla/King Kong/Rampage sort of feel to it which is fantastic, little knack just doesn't compare to the fun element of just smashing shit up and down. I wish there was more platforming and more Big Knack because those are by far the two best things as far as in-game experiences this game gave to me.
But the flaws of this game..........
1) The checkpoint system is ass. At times, I am just yelling out loud "Checkpoint, checkpoint, checkpoint, checkpoint! plz!" I am cool with not getting a cake walk each and every single time, I get it. Believe me I do....but to not restore your belongings the exact same position that you previously had I just don't understand as far as the sunstones go. Sunstones are VITAL, especially in a hard mode run(Like I did) in these situations that you get wiped out without them. Feels like at times, I had to do run after run to accumulate enough sunstones(And let me tell you, IF you play this game YOU BETTER GO FOR THE UPGRADE OF GETTING SUNSTOKE POWER AFTER KILLING ENEMIES. Cannot stress that enough, game was dreadful without it!) and if I blew it, it's regrinding essentially since....
2) The tradeoffs, like WTF? Is this a hard mode only feature? Knack's range is such shit outside of his Sunstone powers, so when ends up happening too many times in this game is when you try and go for a swing, the enemies will catch you in time to either beat you to the punch or a tradeoff where both you and the enemy die together which does you no good since you have to restart over. So many times, I try and seize an opening only for the enemy to have such recovery time to respond and trade off and essentially win the war. You can't recall how many times I had to replay part over part because of this nonsense.
This was on hard mode need I mind you.....cannot imagine what this "very hard" mode would entail? Given the enemies can one shot you and the health pickups often give you such a minuscule amount back that you end up dying still in one hit(Essentially making them worthless), how much harder can this game be? More enemies on a map?
3) The FPS drops were brutal in particular when there were segments(ESPECIALLY the end bosses) of having overcrowded enemies and or lasers/projectiles and given you have such a limited dodge and jump/double jump, it was sluggish and just rough to try and navigate around and go on the offensive. This excuse gets a pass for me because again this was a launch title and was new to this generation's/PS4's power so I expect and anticipate this to be resolved for the sequel.
4) There's tons of loopholes with the story and it does feel somewhat rushed where it doesn't capture the magic say a game it tried to imitate in Uncharted from a storytelling standpoint does. Game bounces around place to place, introduces characters that really don't matter much in the grand scheme of it all and the main antagonist you don't even get any satisfaction of fighting the person......Story does tend to go all over the place and there's so much flip flopping with characters in a matter of minutes where someone helped contribute to doing bad things who ends up turning good and someone who is bad ends up falling in love with someone they had no relationship with prior :lol:
Knack is also mistreated pretty badly throughout the game and is treated like a drone where the people often take advantage of it and you just kind of shrug and shake your head towards the other protagonists who view him as a tool or weapon. Knack just feels like a weapon who doesn't get to share too much personality with it's other protagonist which in turn makes the human companions he's with look pretty shitty for the most part.
5) I don't mind linearity but there was way too much scene by scene fighting of 2-3 enemies and BEING FORCED often to have to clear out a segment of enemies to progress. Very seldom could you evade enemies and just progress further in the game, you are forced to fight enemies that get as much if not more priority than you and can one shot you. Not a good recipe of game design success Mark Cerny. Just feels like you are very limited to how much you can change it up as far as progressing in the game, especially given the special knack powerups(Ala Vampire Knack, Crystal Knack etc.) cannot be played until after the 1st playthrough is done. HUH, you are getting 10 or 20 parts to get this thing and you can't even use it in the 1st playthrough?
Recommendation: Yay or Nay?
I would side with neither because there's promise and some good things this game does do well but the bad often overshadow it and you often find yourself frustrated with this game. Frustrated is the best word I can sum Knack up with but I will say that the game does deserve a 2nd chance and I am happy Cerny and Co. are getting this 2nd chance because these are very fixable mistakes. But to say I was getting frustrated with this game overall would be an understatement, having to replay segment after segment over the enemy and I trading shots was rather annoying.
There are much better platformers out there so if you don't ever play Knack, you aren't missing out on much but it is by no means "terrible" just a flawed game that does some things right but it ends up tripping itself over some unnecessary nonsense.
She loved decorating the pod and picking a design for sack boy. She got a bit frustrated with the actual game after 20 mins or so. She enjoyed making sack boy run from side to side and jump. She was just struggling with combining jumping and moving at the same time. It is one of the more kid friendly games around and I think it's good for introducing some very basic movements and just getting them used to the cause and effect of the controller. She's played lots of touch screen kids games and likes them but with the controllers being so big it's a bit harder for her to reach certain button combinations.
In spite of its faults, this is my favorite of the ME games by a landslide and that's saying a lot. The combat was fine-tuned to perfection. The interactions were meaningful without having to frame them around loyalty missions like in 2. They did away with the paragon system (thank god). There were just so many fixes and tweaks to the formula that made this experience one I wanted to continue with, so much so I spent a bunch of time doing side things and the DLC. Citadel is one of my favorite DLC packs. Needless to say, I'll be revisiting this series again in the future to play things out differently (with a lot of mods), even if my initial play through 1 wasn't all that great. I think it'd actually be better with M+KB than controller now that I know better, but we'll see. 10/10
This is very reassuring. I'm going to go back to ME2 with renewed vigor after finishing Human Revolution. It's great to hear that ME3 improves on the general formula even further.
Hmm I guess I need a second main post already lol. This be it then.
Game #33 - Dustoff Heli Rescue
Time: 4 hours
This was a great take on the old Choplifter formula, with a good variety of levels and an awesome voxel-y / minecraft inspired artstyle. 25 levels where you have to either rescue soldiers or lift cargo back to base, the controls are super simple (you can actually use "pro" controls but I actually feel the simple controls and auto fire work in the game's favor), the art style is gorgeous like I said, the soundtrack is action movie esque and the sounds are great (I love the radio chatter), its just a really fun little game. Apparently there is a sequel on mobile (this one is also clearly a mobile game originally) and I really hope it comes to PC also. Great surprise.
Wow crazy impressive, 33 games? Do you work in the games industry or something, kinda lucky to have the means and ability to make time for all that stuff!
Wow crazy impressive, 33 games? Do you work in the games industry or something, kinda lucky to have the means and ability to make time for all that stuff!
GAME #11 - The Wonderful 101 - 10 Hours - 7/10 - 2/22/17
Ugh. This is the worst kind of game to critique. It's got a ton of heart, a TON or heart, but boy does it have its problems. Well, might as well rip this band-aid off and get it over with.
There's a ton I like about The Wonderful 101. I like the ability to switch weapons on the fly in fights just by drawing lines with the analog stick. I like the fact that the enemies require you to switch weapons and can't just be beaten by punching them all to death. I like the story and setting of the game. Platinum aren't exactly known for their stellar writing, but when the game is basically a Saturday morning cartoon they don't need to have stellar writing, just good ideas and comedic timing (which this game has in spades). I like the spectacle on display in certain parts, especially during the boss fights, which I dare say are some of the hypest boss fights to just look at in the genre. I like that the combat doesn't require too much technical skill, but there's still depth to it.
But, there's also a TON I dislike about this game. It gets incredibly chaotic during fights with multiple enemies and your massive group of heroes, and a lot of the time I found myself getting tagged by attacks that I couldn't see the tells for, either because the enemies were off-screen or blending in with the actions. This wouldn't be too much of an issue, except for getting attacked sends your whole team flying around and you have to go gather them before you get tagged by another attack because you can't block or dodge if you don't have a team with you. The camera in general is pretty shitty honestly. It's always too close to your characters, especially out of combat where I often found myself wondering where the fuck I was supposed to be going because the camera wouldn't zoom out to show me a hint of which direction to go in (not a great look for a linear game). The platforming sections are garbage, with it being VERY hard to judge distances. Every section where you need to switch your view to the Wii U gamepad sucks. I can't stand having to switch my view back and forth and be forced to look around with gyro controls.
Speaking of weird, gameplay shifting sections, this game has them in spades. A lot of them are pretty good. A lot more of them are not. At all. Punch-Out is fun. Looking at the gamepad to know which side of a cube I'm in to attack to get it to move through a short maze on a time limit is not. The shmup sections are cool. Any time I had to control two characters with both analog sticks were not.
(Side Note: After playing this and Bayonetta 1, all I have to say to Kamiya is; just remake Space Harrier already and stop putting it in all of your games. We get it, you like it, but if I wanted to play Space Harrier I'd buy Yakuza 0.)
I refuse to say that The Wonderful 101 isn't a good game, but I definitely won't say it's a great game. I don't regret playing it, but I certainly regret playing parts of it. I'd love for it to get the Bayonetta 2 treatment; to get a game that polishes up on the core ideas that worked while dropping almost everything that didn't, but we all know it didn't sell well enough for that to ever happen.
9. Final Fantasy XV (PS4, 2016) - 20:15 (+16:50 in 2016) Completed the campaign on Normal.
What the hell did I just play?
I mean this quite seriously. What was all that? By the end of it all, none of the climactic scenes had any impact because I had next to no idea what was going on. Entire story beats seem to be missing. Things happen for no apparent reason, described (but not really explained) only in retrospect by loading screen text. The internet helped me piece together the main villain's motivations at least; I needed this help because the cutscene where the villain explains their motivation inexplicably mixes that person's dialogue volume way down in favour of Noctis grunting in pain constantly, so I couldn't even hear the justification for why everything's happening.
Everything about Final Fantasy XV points to two conclusions: it's an impossibly ambitious game, and shockingly little of it works very well. At times, I wondered if Final Fantasy XV would do what XIII didn't: convince me never to play a Final Fantasy game again. And yet, for all of that, I don't know if I really hate Final Fantasy XV. There's clearly something that can be salvaged out of the whole thing.
All I know is this: it was a really bad idea to finish this after Yakuza 0. That game knows how to tell a good story.
Bought this on PS3, but gave up on Chapter 2 as it wasn't clicking with me back then. Picked it up on a sale on PS4 and wow - this is a great game! The partner AI is the biggest drawback, but otherwise a fun game to romp through.
First time playing through this as I hadn't gotten rid of my 360 when this came out. This is now my favorite Halo campaign. It was tremendously well done.
19. MLB the Show'16 (PS4) Replay
Completed: 2/8/17
Time: ??
Played through another season on RTTS. This is by far the best baseball game ever to come out and I look forward to continue playing it for years to come.
20. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Vita)
Completed: 2/16/17
Time: ??
I bought this originally on the PS2, but dropped it about 1/3 of the way through. I enjoyed revisiting it and playing through it for the first time. The camera/controls were a bit rough around the edges compared to what you see in games today, but overall I thought it held up pretty well.
21. Arkham City (PS4) Replay
Completed: 2/17/17
Time: 15 hours
One of my favorite gaming series, right up there with Zelda. While I played through Arkham Asylum multiple times, this was my first time replaying Arkham City. My only negative about these games is that I feel there are always way too many Riddler challenges/trophies. Othwerwise a flawless masterpiece. The Harley DLC, which I had played for the first time, was well done though short
22. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Wii U VC)
Completed: 2/21/17
Time: 15 hours
As alluded to earlier Zelda games are my favorite series, and I love 2D Zeldas the best. Was thrilled this came to WiiU VC as I had never played it before. Really enjoyed this game as like other handheld Zelda's, they are 1) 2D and 2) change up the Zelda formula a bit.
23. The King of Fighters 2000 (PS4/PS2 classic)
Completed: 2/22/17
Time: 2 hours
First time I played a KoF game. The mechanics aren't bad and hold up well for as old as it is. It's hard for me though as I'm a big SF fanboy and constantly compare all fighters to that series. A bit unfair to these games, but will continue to try KoFXIV likely.
Top 5 games played to date:
1. Arkham Asylum Remaster
2. Arkham City Remaster
3. The Legend of Zelda Minish Cap
4. Titanfall 2
5. Resident Evil 5
Currently playing:
Saturday Morning RPG
Halo Wars Definitive Edition
Game got good by halfway point, story wise but the final encounter by the end of the game was the worst part of the game. I did enjoy it otherwise but I don't see me going back to it anytime soon.
Still recommend ti though and the final part isn't that difficult long as you know what you are doing.
(Steam) Completed in 6 hours - incidentally enough at a similar pace to the game's story it seems.
I stumbled on this once going through some Giant Bomb stuff, the scene with the devil horns sign to be precise, and found it hilarious out of context (even moreso with context when I got there).
It's an FMV mystery story following detective Frederick Jenks; who, besides channelling as much of David Tennant's 'Doctor' at every possible moment in every possible scene (a compliment I might add, not a criticism) has been tasked with the ludicrous deadline of 6 or so hours to discover whether the death via drowning of Edenton local girl Kate Vine was suicide, or if a local resident had an ulterior motive unknown to the police. Jenks will move from location to location on the player's command, with a notebook in hand to document everything relevant to the player. When interviewing one of the several suspects/informants, Jenks will present evidence when selected, to which a scene plays out. From there, the notebook will give the player the relevant information from said scene, and here is where the concept of 'contradiction' comes into play. By running through routine questions, it won't take much time for the player to see clear conflicting reports - during the interview, selecting two pieces of conflicting information given by the suspect, Jenks will go in hard to question them further, unlocking more evidence, or progressing the plot.
It's worth noting that the deadline is entirely chapter based, and one could spend several hours real-time in game solving a contradiction without it resulting in failure. To that end, I don't believe from what I've played that there is a failure, at least not in a traditional sense. The player has the option to call the police chief who issued Jenks with the case at several points, but doesn't specify whether this constitutes a submission to a puzzle, a trigger for progression, or just light dialogue fluff (as my calls turned out to be). More so, the game's achievements mention cheats - every time an hour progressed in story, two achievements would unlock, one on progression, the second to declare 'No Cheats Used'. I never delved into any community for this as it was a single, long play session so I'm unsure how cheats are implemented. All this alludes to a very basic trial and error detective game, you aren't even allowed to engage with a scene if your contradictions aren't correct, so there is no penalty to brute forcing some issues with enough tries.
For the most part each phase of the game made perfect sense to me, the player could often read pretty easily where and when someone was deliberately trying to lie to them, the only issue I ran into was at times matching the exact two phrases together, as several at times could've implied the same accusation Jenks proceeded to give - nitpicking, since this was a low budget FMV.
As an FMV I have to merit it greatly on every visual and audible aspect on display. Locations looked fantastic to give off an eerie, secluded village, I don't recall a single moment when the music got on my nerves, in fact it complimented each scene far more than just add itself into them. Mapping was great, the UI was decent enough - a bit unorganised in parts, but having finished it I learnt the PC UI was a later implementation of an original iOS version, so I'll have to see how that organises itself. The acting was brilliant - not in that it was stellar performances, but each and every character was lived in by their actor. Whether they were cartoonishly goofy like Jenks, overwhelmingly grizzled and evil like Paul Rand, foppish and bumbling like Ryan, or trebling up on the femme-fatale like with Rebecca, they were all individually memorable in their performances.
The story did falter a bit when I clearly noted several times to myself that it's allowing itself and Jenks to go down obvious red herrings, or even off investigation all together, and considering how the case is ultimately resolved, required little of the game's plot to begin with - that is, if we were to assume this was to be a standalone game. The subplot of a mysterious business course called Atlas that Jenks remarks upon is front and centre the focal point of the game, and one that I learnt Tim Follin - video game composer, who directed the game - wanted to explore far more deeper than he could here given the low kickstarter budget he had to work with. To this end, the game itself feels like a prelude to a much more intricate sequel that, upon writing this, I'm not entirely sure is in the works (correct me if I'm wrong, I'd LOVE to know more about after this).
As a game on it's own, the ending did not stick the landing half as well as the game deserved, however that didn't take away any of my enjoyment overall - it is a sublime tip of the hat to a genre that many people never see anymore. I would pay good money to see more of Jenksy.
#01: Steamworld Heist (iOS) 08:52:18
The year started really great with this one. I liked the physics and overall gameplay, and the controls on Ipad are really good. Reminded me a lot of Firefly, which is definitely a good thing! - 8/10
#02: Monument Valley (iOS) ~01:30:00
The puzzles are rather easy and the narrative might be cute but otherwise rather meh, but this short little game shines due to its Escheresque play on perspectives. - 7/10
#03: Prune (iOS) ~02:00:00
Interesting idea and nice simplistic visuals, but on an Ipad mini the controls didnt feel tight enough, more often than not it was pure luck whether the intended branch got cut. Nonetheless genuinely entertaining for two hours and nice to look at. - 7/10
#04: Transistor (iOS) ~05:00:00
The art and visual design are neat, the story kept me going and the way powers can be combined was refreshing. But unfortunately I didnt like the combat system so much. I enjoyed planning the round based parts but then more often than not had to run around like a headless chicken until a new round could be planned. - 6/10
#05: GTA V (PS4) 32:35:43
The first GTA Ive played since Vice City and the first one Ive finished at all. The saving system in Vice City was so frustrating for me, that I didnt even bother playing any GTA since. Im glad I did, GTA V is an awesome game in so many ways. Ill get back to it soon to finish all the side missions. - 10/10
#06: Bastion (iOS) ~07:00:00
Cannot say I really liked it. Might be because of the control scheme on Ipad, but even other than that I couldnt have cared less about the story and the narrator bored me to death. - 4/10
#07: Titanfall 2 (PS4) ~07:00:00
Singleplayer was a blast. Started slow and after the first hour I was wondering why everybody was raving about that game, but then it suddenly picks up, and quiet a lot! Most fun gameplay Ive had in a while, and even though Im not much of an online gamer, Ive spent relatively much time with the multiplayer since finishing the campaign. - 9/10
#08: Inside (PS4) ~03:30:00
Short but really intense. Especially
12. Quake (6 hours)
Perhaps not as good or as ground-breaking as its older sibling Doom, but the original Quake is very well made and very important in its own way. I wasn't terribly impressed by the game's early hours, but it grew on me.
This is very reassuring. I'm going to go back to ME2 with renewed vigor after finishing Human Revolution. It's great to hear that ME3 improves on the general formula even further.
I have to point out, whether it's because I came so LTTP or just personal taste, a lot of people tend to differ in opinion with me on this title. I think the way the narrative is presented and the overall gameplay is much improved over 2 (and, I mean, 2 was fucking incredible). The ending is probably the bit where you'll find controversy, but in my eyes, it shouldn't undo all the good the game did. It's understandable when you look at the real-world context (after completing the game, of course), but I personally thought it was fitting.
Also, if you get the chance through some means, I highly recommend the Leviathan and Citadel DLCs. They're both fantastic and pretty much essential.
10. Uncharted 4: An absolutley amazing game. Best game I have played in a long time. The pacing and variation in the chapters is phenomenal and the views are jaw dropping at times. Story is fantastic and I cannot praise this game enough. Having cleared it on hard my only gripe is the combat can be infuriating at times. Especially with heavily armoured enemies.
13. Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1 1/2 hours)
I found myself enjoying this one a little more than Tower of Doom, but they're more or less identical gameplay-wise. This one has a more focused plot and better defined villains than the first, but it's more of the same, which is welcome in this case.
I have to point out, whether it's because I came so LTTP or just personal taste, a lot of people tend to differ in opinion with me on this title. I think the way the narrative is presented and the overall gameplay is much improved over 2 (and, I mean, 2 was fucking incredible). The ending is probably the bit where you'll find controversy, but in my eyes, it shouldn't undo all the good the game did. It's understandable when you look at the real-world context (after completing the game, of course), but I personally thought it was fitting.
Also, if you get the chance through some means, I highly recommend the Leviathan and Citadel DLCs. They're both fantastic and pretty much essential.
Game 4: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time - I've played all the mainline series up until this one, and it's easily the best one. I haven't finished Into the Nexus or the PS4(going to soon though!)
Game 5: InFamous 2 - I thought the first one was okay, nothing special. The sequel though? Its now one of my absolute favorite PS3 games.
7. 12 Labours of Hercules - 5 hours
12 Labours of Hercules is nice little game, very addictive causal strategy, but after completing it on 100% I'm not willing to play sequels right now. Maybe few months later, 5 hours of gameplay is more than enough for such game. The only real problem is lack of offline achievements, i tried to play it on my Windows tablet when i was traveling last year, but achievements didn't worked, not sure if this issue fixed now or not. Costs only 3$, but totally worth it.
So apparently this got delisted from Steam recently which sucks since it is a pretty decent 3rd Person Action game.
I used NVidia Inspector to inject Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan AA which helped make the game look really good.
It is a short game that I managed to beat in under 7 hours (on Easy) and I really liked that the original actors re-praised their roles for the game so that's one reason to replay through it in the future.
That's a third time I completed this masterpiece. One of the greatest games ever made and best GTA to date. Even though this game is PS3 remaster it's still looks amazing to this day and rivals all other current gen open world games.
Game is so good I can barely make any complaints, worst thing I can say that there's no more police/taxi/paramedic side missions.
Now I will probably continue playing, exploring open world and finishing any side missions left before next week Horizon drops. Can't wait.
So apparently I've either been lied to or I misunderstood how time lines works, but Going EASTWARD didn't matter once I arrived in London on the 80th day :V Well I managed to beat the game once so it still counts but I will go back someday and replay for a better ending.
10. Ys Origin
~13 Hours
Fun combat. Story didn't interest me in the least. It looks nice. It's the perfect stream-Action RPG. Overall pretty forgettable, though. Going through once will be enough. 3/5
11. Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition
~1 Hour
It was alright. 2/5
