#28 Spec Ops: The Line ★★★.5 PS3 - Feb 25th - 6 hours
Competent shooter with a good story, it does fall short of greatness due to lack of originality in the gameplay but it's worth checking out

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08 | Broken Age | PC
Time: 9 hours
Score: 4/10

I enjoyed the Vella section of act 1. The open sections of Meriloft and Shellmound reminded me of the traditional adventure games. But from there on it started going downhill. The spaceship sections weren't intriguing, the plot never captivated me and the characters were far from memorable. Act 2 simply recycles the environments used in the first act and just makes the puzzles a bit harder. Ultimately Broken Age starts promising but in the end is just one giant waste of potential.

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8. Trials of the Blood Dragon - 3.5 hours
Finally forced myself to finish Trials of Blood Dragon, and, unfortunately, it's not a very good game. Artstyle, story and music is great, but gameplay is tedious and very frustrating most of the time. It could be a good game if it feature only usual bikes sections from other Trials games, but they also added walking/platforming sections, and they are terrible. Such controls are okay for bikes, but not for on-foot levels, it's not possible to smoothly run at any direction, jumping is very frustrating too. Also, there is levels were you need to fly around and avoid obstacles, and sections with minikart - fuck that shit, instant fun killers. I just can't imagine how it's possible to clear all levels without failing, some levels are insanely hard, and they are hard mostly because you can't properly control your character. But as i said, visuals and sound in this game are great, Ubisoft artists and Power Glove outdone themselves, i wish gameplay were as cool as visuals.

Just finished Tropical Freeze!

Loads easier than the first game, not sure if that was down to using a more accurate controller or whether I was in te zone after playing them both pretty much back to back. (I did Telltale Batman in between)

Are people going to shout at me if I wholeheartedly wish Retro are doing another one instead of 'Metroid'??

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11. XCOM 2 - 42 Hours


I've been playing a lot of games, but haven't been *completing* a lot of games the past few weeks. That said, XCOM 2 is fantastic and, once I got over the initial bump in difficulty, was gripped by it in a way few games are able to achieve. The game's most talked about feature, turn limits, added some nice variety to missions. Along with the different mission types and objectives beyond "kill all the bad guys" I thought XCOM 2 did a good job of feeling fresh over its duration rather than falling into a rut of doing the same thing over and over each mission. The new classes feel more specialized into specific roles and ultimately lead to more tactical and rewarding gameplay. The game is filled with quite a few extra CGI cutscenes compared to XCOM 1 that serve to strengthen the narrative and make you feel more a part of the action, and it mostly succeeds on that end. What I found more engaging though was customizing my multi-national squad with different nicknames and cosmetics, and developing a head cannon for these created characters as a I played through the campaign, which is something I rarely if ever do with a video game. So for me, both sides of XCOM 2, the gameplay and the story were both really strong and I'm really impressed how much of an improvement XCOM 2 is over its predecessor, which was already a really good game on its own.

12. Pac-Man 256 - 5.5 Hours


For being just an endless runner, Pac-Man 256 is actually a pretty good distillation of Pac-Man's core elements into a modern package. Playing "one more time" in search of the top score or a new power up to unlock is compelling for at least a couple hours, until the new unlockables become too far and few between, and you've set a satisfyingly high enough score. After that it becomes merely an above average distraction, lacking that certain something to make it a game with any longevity.

Krooner said:

Just finished Tropical Freeze!

Loads easier than the first game, not sure if that was down to using a more accurate controller or whether I was in te zone after playing them both pretty much back to back. (I did Telltale Batman in between)

Are people going to shout at me if I wholeheartedly wish Retro are doing another one instead of 'Metroid'??

Click to expand...

I for one will applaud you and gladly agree! Did you play the K levels? They are brutal but sublime...

Original post: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=230346393&posted=1#post230346393

5. Hidden Folk
Been following this game for a while via @ZackBellGames and it's a dreamy little hidden item game that's great for winding down. I've got it on iPhone and every time I got a bit stressed I'd pop it open and just spend a few minutes looking through crowds for "Waldo." The big maps are pretty messy and there should really be a dozen more hidden things every map, but it's still got a ton of personality and is very well done.
6. For Honor
This is what a fighting game looks like when action game makers decide they can do something creative with the fighting game genre. As an action game, it's terrible. It has a mindless, repetitive campaign that's excessively long and adds nothing to the experience. As a fighting game, it leave a lot on the table. It's a very clever idea, using directional attacks to fight opponents in melee combat, but those action game sensibilites ruin it for me. Everything I love about fighting games, what I describe as clarity of combat, is so poorly done. Animations are awkward and uninformative. Distancing is sloppy to manage on flat ground, let alone in areas with verticality. And there's so much about combat that's just broken in general. Again, action game sensibilities in a fighting game. I really can't stand For Honor.
-- Sort the Court - Intermission to play this fun indie from @Graebor after seeing a recommendation on @Waypoint. Great fun. I like it more than Reigns! Ending was pretty sudden and I kinda left disappointed as a result.
7. Night in the Woods
By far my favorite game yet in 2017. It's hipster as fuck, but virtually every bit of dialogue between Mae and the various citizenry of Possum Springs feels fluid and emotive. It's not necessarily natural dialogue, but it's like a waterslide. You just get on and let it lead you where it's going, enjoying it for what it is. It's through the dialogue, supplemented by the spectacularly animated art, that I fell in love with pretty much every character in Night in the Woods. They're not all good people. You won't "get" everyone, even your best friends (there's just not enough days , but you're all just fuckin' doing your best and hey, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

I legit can't stop thinking about the game's mysteries, but not in a whodunnit kinda way. More in just trying to understand motivation, metaphor and meaning kinda way. I love this feeling -- like I just care so much about the game and it feels real nice.
8. Halo Wars 2
Halo Wars got Evolve'd. Straight off the bat -- Halo Wars 2 should have been free to play. The only redeeming quality of the campaign is that it's tied into Halo 6. It's otherwise completely forgettable -- half a campaign, really, because it goes nowhere. And it's tied into levelling and rewarding cardpacks which seriously -- I'm fucking just trying to play a campaign here. The main multiplayer mode is monetization hell. You collect cards, level units a la Clash Royale, take your deck into multiplayer to fight completely unbalanced shitfest battles. Like, I can't event tell if the core gameplay is good in this game because every mode available is low effort, boring, completely uncompelling nonesense. This is a SIXTY DOLLAR GAME. Guh. Still better than For Honor.

14) Kameo: Elements of Power 2/22-2/25

About half way through Kameo: Elements of Power and I don't get any of the acclaim that it gained 12 years ago. Maybe this game can be chalked up as a game that is just clearly outdated and has not aged well but even then, I don't think I can buy that given the same company made Banjo Kazooie, and Banjo Tooie where both games clearly outclass this game in many aspects.

1) The worlds of each place feel there for the sake of being there, they aren't fun or engaging and for me 2 worlds down, I didn't find the need to explore any of that and nor are any of the side characters actually worth helping out. There have been very few optional missions that I can honestly say I accomplished. The format and structure of what you can vs what you cannot do leave me puzzled where even if I go out of my way to try and do something on the side, I find myself unable to help out and if anything am losing health for fighting enemies that I cannot kill or cannot stop from respawning so I just find myself skipping on this said side content.

2) The controls or better yet the aiming controls are brutal. Once again I ask of Rare, how is it that they can at least give you respectable aiming controls in Conker's Bad Fur Day but for a game that was out 6-7 years later they refuse to go back to the basics with this game? The game requires you to be so pinpoint with the aim with the fire element that if you are remotely off, the fireball will squiggle.and go off balance. But the worst culprit of this might you ask that I have encountered? The water element, good grief is that awful? I was wondering a few hours in about the complaint about this game having poor controls if they were valid or not because the game hadn't been bad in that aspect but once the water element was introduced, all bets off.

Again Rare has had their mixed bag of results when it comes to swimming mechanics in their video games. For me, it was mediocre swimming mechanics in the Banjo series but Donkey Kong Country has among the most smoothest swimming but Kameo takes the cake out of the entire contest. How might you ask? Well you need to hold up on the analog stick to go down which is a chore but not impossible to get familiar with but the aiming controls and trying to center them on obstacles is brutal, like the way I found myself doing this was to be right next to the enemy(Even if it hurts me) and just unload as much as I possibly could. The less water objectives in Kameo I feel, the better the experience because they dropped the ball with the underwater aspects. I should be loving underwater fights with submarines but alas. And the 2nd boss, that was 20 minutes that I can't ever get back......brutal isn't the word to describe it. Just a tedious chore all around, not fun or excitement in any way shape or form.

Just my 2 biggest gripes thus far. I will say I have no qualms about the story of this game which is a typical platformer and I think the game is VERY forgiving when you die where they start you at the last checkpoint which the game is very good about and on paper the idea of getting to use different transformations to get around is pretty cool and the game does make you use the different transformations to get around a stage even if it does feel somewhat repetitive at times.

But am I blown away by this game so far? Not at all. Other platformers that precede this game just do their roles so much better that you feel like you are playing but given I have pretty much loved anything SNES onward that Rare has put out, I had to give this game a shot and maybe it gets better in the 2nd half of the game though I can't say I am expecting that.

2/25 EDIT:

I finished Kameo not too long ago, not much really changed with my initial impressions except I fought a pretty good final boss but a god awful 2nd to last boss which is compounded by an annoying elemental power that is mandatory to win this fight. Thank god I got to cheese the last boss with a nearly fully upgraded Thermite and just absolutely spanked it

The sections where you have to pinpoint your rolls and time it right to not fall to your death was silly, in fact the entire Castle should be known as "One Hit KOsville" because that's what it felt like to me. Now again, thank goodness the developers had good judgment to not be stingy with the checkpoints because otherwise this would have verged onto becoming unplayable.

Not a game that is completely awful but it's one that I expected to be so much better and there's just so much bad that outshines the good in this game.


Recommendation: Yay or Nay
By no means is Kameo a terrible game because again I want to say it is not but as someone who doesn't have any nostalgia whatsoever attached to this game, I just cannot look past all of the fallacies that this game has and for a Rare title, I just expected much more. I would normally chalk this down up as this being a 12 year old game but Banjo series, Conker, DKC etc. do what this game does but does it oh so much better and they are years older than Kameo. On paper, this game sounds lovely with all of these different transformations that all are needed throughout your journey(Rubble got a gigantic shaft though, did not pull him for almost 3/4 of the game. Easily the worst of the elements, at least for me).....but it is the execution that fails this game.

There are just better platformers that are worth your valuable time over Kameo, heck the Rare Replay has 3-4 alone.

It's weird that Grabbed by the Ghoulies is the game that gets the negative pub of the first two post Nintendo Rare titles and Kameo is the one that gets better praise but I would gladly reverse that.

Original Post

10) Far Cry Primal - 15 hours - 2/26
I love the Far Cry games but I was a little hesitant about this one since it took my favorite aspect (all the satisfying guns) and replaced it with bows, spears, and clubs. It took a little while for it to all click for me, but once I started running around like a madman with my two-handed club, knocking rival tribes out with one swing while my sabertooth tiger mauled people, I realized how much fun it was. From riding mammoths to hunting some of the bigger game, Far Cry Primal ended up being a ton of fun.

08: Return of the Tomb Raider [PS4] - 20-30? Hrs - 02/26/2017 - ★★★☆☆

Was a fun adventure, but i think the TR reboot was better. Not challenging at all. The exploration and tombs were my favorite parts. Honestly i dont know why they just dont make a game of tombs and puzzles rather than shoehorning in all the cinematic, fights, and story. Dont forsee the sequel changing much up unfortunately. Some good ideas that halfheartedly implemented. They introduce you to many mechanics only to be used in the game a couple times and never again.

How do folk here feel about including betas?

I have put a surprising amount of time in GR: Wildlands but am thinking of including it only as an aside like games I play but don't complete/get on with (for example TorqueL in my current comments post).

Any thoughts?

Game 1-Criminal Girls 2 Party Favors-Vita-Beaten on January 2nd
-I really enjoyed the grind in this game. I usually hate grinding but this game makes it very easy to do so. Fun little game that took about 25 hours. 8/10

Game 2-Shantae Half Genie Hero-Vita-Beaten on January 6th
-This was the perfect game after the long grind of my previous game. Very light-hearted and fun! Perfect on the Vita! 8/10

Game 3-Alone With You-Vita-Beaten on January 14th
-While this adventure game wasn't great, it was very relaxing to play which is what made me enjoy it overall. 7/10

Game 4-Call of Duty Infinite Warfare-PS4-Beaten on January 15th
-I might be in the minority that only play the story mode in Call of Duty games and have to say that I never tire of them. They are like a summer blockbuster. I really liked the on ground parts of his game but didn't really like the flying portions. Still waiting for a return to WWII. 8/10

Game 5-Severed- Vita-Beaten on January 17th
-I really enjoyed this game outside of a few difficulty spikes here or there. Great atmosphere and great touch controls which I usually hate. 9/10

Game 6-Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7-Vita-Beaten on January 19th
-This was the weakest game I have played in a long time. This game was before Lego characters talked so all it is is a disjointed story with very weird grunts/sounds from the characters. I really like the Harry Potter universe but this game is just bad. At least I got it super cheap from a PSN sale. 4/10

Game 7-Neverending Nightmares-Vita-Beaten on January 21
-I really enjoyed this little (2 hours long)horror game. It had great atmosphere and sound especially with headphones on. The title explains the game perfectly as you keep repeating the same nightmare over and over again with slight differences everytime you die. The story is slight but interesting as well. 7/10

Game 8-Trails of Cold Steel 2-Vita-Beaten on February 17
-Over the last 13 months, I have beaten all four of the recent Trails games and have loved every single one of them. This one took me 50 hours which is why this is he first game I have beaten in almost a month. If you like RPG's this is one of the best. 10/10

Game 9-World of Final Fantasy-Vita-Beaten on February 25
-Where January was meant for shorter games for myself, February has been dedicated to longer RPG's. I really enjoyed this game for the most part. It was great to see all the supporting stars from previous Final Fantasy games. The story was not great but kept me interested for the most part. I finished the game with the original bad ending and then saw all that I had to do to get the good ending and just decided to call it. I watched the good ending on YouTube. I had just had enough of all the random battles at that point. 8/10

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6. Rise of the Tomb Raider - 6.5/10. 15-20 hours
I wanted to love this. I really did. The game never quite clicked with me though. The story is very generic and extremely predictable. I found the gunplay to be quite terrible. It feels extremely sluggish and lacking in responsiveness. It seems like you are forced into more gunplay than stealth in this game, unlike the first game, which had a nice balance. The stealth sections that are in the game are easily beaten with poison arrows. Those things are super broken. The best content in the game is the optional side stuff. Which is a shame because most of it is seemingly locked behind skill unlocks and barriers that you can't get past until later in the game. By the end of the game I had no urge to go back and complete that content. The game is very pretty to look at. The soundtrack is serviceable. Nothing memorable. With a generic story, bad gunplay, and boring stealth, the whole package feels a little soulless. As a quick aside, this game has one of the worst final boss sections I've played in quite a while.

Next Game - The Walking Dead: Season One

Adding 2 games and reposting my first two so I can clean up my original post.

1: Titanfall 2
I really enjoyed the campaign for this game. It was consistently introducing new things that all felt fun. I also appreciate any game that gives me the ability to run past enemy encounters. The multiplier I feel more conflicted on. I've had a lot of fun with it, but I found myself constantly getting frustrated at the map design. I had fun with it for a few weeks, but I doubt it will have any staying power with me.

2: Gravity Rush Remastered
I've been meaning to play this for a while and finally got around to doing so right in time for the sequel. I enjoyed this game a lot more than I thought it was. The combat definitely gets repetitive, but I found the gravity mechanics both fun and easy to use. It's a game that could have been a mess due to stuff like camera and controls, but it manages to pull it off. I also love Kat as a character and the world they created around her. I'm looking forward to jumping into the sequel soon.

3: Overwatch
The game that stalled my progress on other games and proved my thoughts on Titanfall's multiplayer correct. I typically wouldn't include a multiplayer game that I've already played on this list, but I obsessively played Overwatch during the Lunar New Year's event. I've talked at lengths about my thoughts on this game in the past, but it really is phenomenal. What I always go back to when talking about this game is how it handles situational awareness. The fact that all the chaos happening at one time makes sense and is simultaneously fun when you have a limited First-Person perspective is truly remarkable, and it means that I never feel like something that killed me is cheap because I could have always avoided or stopped it.

4: Gravity Rush 2
This is a truly incredible game that is still held back by a couple of nagging design issues. The over-reliance on stealth is bad, and while I generally didn't have camera controls with either this or the first game, I felt that the camera couldn't really keep up with lunar style. In every other way this game is incredible. Flying through the city is still fun, and the addition of the new styles changes up the gameplay enough to keep it engaging. The characters and visuals are still fantastic. And I thought the story was a huge improvement over the first game. It's not groundbreaking by any means, but everything about it is as effective as it needs to be. The heroes are all people you want to root for, the twists are effective, the set-pieces are grand, the pacing is spot on, and the comments on class are socially aware. Without some of the design issues I mentioned earlier this would be an incredible action game and a strong early GOTY contender.

Master Post

15. Fable: Anniversary (~24 hours)
As I understand it, Peter Molyneux, the creative lead behind the Fable series, is a man who tends to over promise and under deliver. Well, I know almost nothing about that, so I'm taking Fable: Anniversary for just what it is: a solid action RPG that has enough unique hooks to keep you playing hours at a time.

The story is not unlike that of a lot of role playing games. As a kid, on the day of your sister's birthday, your hometown is ransacked by bandits, and few people make it out of the burning village alive. Your character, who is just referred to as ”Hero", does make it out alive, and is taken to another town where he undergoes rigorous combat training through to adulthood to get revenge on those that destroyed his town and killed his family. Ah, the all too common revenge story. It gets the job done in giving you a reason to attack the game's bad guys. To Fable's credit, once the game really starts, you don't have to get revenge at all. You can side with the bandits that destroyed your village and disown those that trained you to fight bandits if you so choose. I didn't play that way, but it's refreshing that that's an option.

Actually, that's a big part of what Fable is all about: player choice. Everything you do has moral weight to it. Depending on who you attack among the game's cast of character types, an icon with a halo or devil horns will appear with a number next to it. These points count toward a good or evil alignment, and depending on how you're aligned, characters will applaud your arrival or stay far away from you. This sort of system might seem cliche in a post-Mass Effect world, but Fable predates Mass Effect by three years. There are times where having a moral choice to make at all will surprise you, right up to the end of the game. Even outside of the morality system, there's a lot you can do. You can own land, get married, become mayor of a town, and more.

Fable is an action RPG, and the action is pretty enjoyable. Your main weapon is the sword, which you can block with until the enemy is vulnerable to an attack. That said, you're usually better off just swinging the sword freely. This is especially true because you're often faced with multiple enemies, and blocking one enemy's attack doesn't block another's, causing you to still take damage. Another benefit is that swinging your sword can hit multiple enemies at once.

You also have a bow, which works great for ranged shots. Depending on how many enemies you're up against, you can take out a group of attackers by drawing your bow and running backwards. There's a timing aspect to the bow, where the longer you pull it back the more damage you do. This adds a nice strategy element to bow and arrow use. Finally, there's magic. Perhaps embarrassingly, I didn't know how to level up my magic until I was about halfway through the game. Once you do though, it becomes a vital part of your combat strategy. There's a certain satisfaction to using lightning to stun four guys, and then using your sword to polish them all off. The number of magic options available is impressive, and mastering each one will guarantee an easy finish to the game.

Another fun part of the game (really, any RPG) is upgrading your weapons or armor and then trying them out. Sometimes you find a piece of gear in the field that's way better than what you currently have and you can equip it on the spot. That said, most of the time you'll be purchasing items in the shop. Something nice about Fable is you actually see the weapons and armor you equip on your character. At one point, my guy looked like a medieval knight with a sword that emitted flames on occasion, which was pretty badass. If you really want the best gear, you're going to have to grind for it, so consider yourself warned.

Considering that Fable originated on the original Xbox, the graphics have held up remarkably well. A criticism is that the color palette can be a bit samey in places, but the polygons have held up nicely. Playing on PC, the framerate was silky smooth at 1080p resolution, even in intense battles. I played with the Steam Controller, which is something I'm trying to do with as many PC games as I can. The developers at Lionhead took the time to support the Steam Controller, and playing with it felt perfectly natural. That said, it would have been nice to invert the X axis of the camera controls.

At the end of Fable: Anniversary (after a long credit roll), I immediately wanted to learn more about Fable 2 and 3. For an action RPG, the combat is stellar. The story is good, and the writing keeps the tone of the game light and cheery. And most of all, it's just fun, from start to finish. It's an essential RPG for any PC, Xbox 360, or Xbox owner.
5/5

Original Post

8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 10/10, 21 hours
Absolutely excellent... for cases 1 through 4. Rise from the Ashes was nonsensical garbage and dragged on for way too long. HOWEVER, for my rating I'm going to ignore Rise from the Ashes because it's basically additional DLC content anyhow. The whole story arc from cases 2 to 4 is incredibly well done. It's almost surprising that this game became a franchise, because by the end of case 4 it feels like a perfectly told story with a great conclusion. The whole Phoenix/Edgeworth reconnection arc is done so incredibly well, long lost friend seems different, shows signs of still being a good guy, and then is ultimately redeemed as Nick reconnects with him. The writing balances goofy humor and complete seriousness in a way that very few other games can manage. I loved this game and can't wait to play the rest of the original trilogy (that's all I currently own).

9. Fire Emblem Heroes - 6/10, dunno how many hours
Beat the main story (it's incomplete and bad, but whatever), so it's effectively beaten. This isn't a great game, but then I didn't expect it to be. For a silly mobile distraction, it's kind of fun. That's about all there is to say here... unremarkable game but it's kind of enjoyable to play some occasional braindead mini-levels of Fire Emblem.

Original Post

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#8. Yakuza 0 (PS4) - February 26 - 75+ hours

My intro to the series. Came for the goofy charm and slice of life Japan ambiance, did not expect such an affecting, well told story alongside. Sucked me in from the beginning and kept getting better, from the acting and writing to the direction and presentation. Strong characterization, slow burn mystery, hype encounters, memorable side missions and emotional notes that are earned. Still fresh but that felt legitimately great as far as AAA storytelling goes.

Solid brawler gameplay on top, never too difficult but satisfying. Got seriously sidetracked building real estate and cabaret club empires, even after close to 80 hours I'm still looking forward to more. Awesome game.

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#9. Clustertruck (PC) - February 26 - 3 hours

A nice palate cleanser for when you're in the mood to jump on trucks instead of punch Yakuza. Like a lo-fi Trackmania with high speed parkour platforming. The physics are loose enough that there's a fair amount of jank and luck involved, but the off the rails feel is also part of the fun. Good stuff and something different, even if the harder courses were a little too tricky and unwieldy for my tastes.

Currently Playing:
Fire Emblem: Heroes (Android)
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (PC)

rottendevice said:

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Main post 2

15. Fable: Anniversary (~24 hours)
As I understand it, Peter Molyneux, the creative lead behind the Fable series, is a man who tends to over promise and under deliver. Well, I know almost nothing about that, so I’m taking Fable: Anniversary for just what it is: a solid action RPG that has enough unique hooks to keep you playing hours at a time.

The story is not unlike that of a lot of role playing games. As a kid, on the day of your sister’s birthday, your hometown is ransacked by bandits, and few people make it out of the burning village alive. Your character, who is just referred to as “Hero”, does make it out alive, and is taken to another town where he undergoes rigorous combat training through to adulthood to get revenge on those that destroyed his town and killed his family. Ah, the all too common revenge story. It gets the job done in giving you a reason to attack the game’s bad guys. To Fable’s credit, once the game really starts, you don’t have to get revenge at all. You can side with the bandits that destroyed your village and disown those that trained you to fight bandits if you so choose. I didn’t play that way, but it’s refreshing that that’s an option.

Actually, that’s a big part of what Fable is all about: player choice. Everything you do has moral weight to it. Depending on who you attack among the game’s cast of character types, an icon with a halo or devil horns will appear with a number next to it. These points count toward a good or evil alignment, and depending on how you’re aligned, characters will applaud your arrival or stay far away from you. This sort of system might seem cliche in a post-Mass Effect world, but Fable predates Mass Effect by three years. There are times where having a moral choice to make at all will surprise you, right up to the end of the game. Even outside of the morality system, there’s a lot you can do. You can own land, get married, become mayor of a town, and more.

Fable is an action RPG, and the action is pretty enjoyable. Your main weapon is the sword, which you can block with until the enemy is vulnerable to an attack. That said, you’re usually better off just swinging the sword freely. This is especially true because you’re often faced with multiple enemies, and blocking one enemy’s attack doesn’t block another’s, causing you to still take damage. Another benefit is that swinging your sword can hit multiple enemies at once.

You also have a bow, which works great for ranged shots. Depending on how many enemies you’re up against, you can take out a group of attackers by drawing your bow and running backwards. There’s a timing aspect to the bow, where the longer you pull it back the more damage you do. This adds a nice strategy element to bow and arrow use. Finally, there’s magic. Perhaps embarrassingly, I didn’t know how to level up my magic until I was about halfway through the game. Once you do though, it becomes a vital part of your combat strategy. There’s a certain satisfaction to using lightning to stun four guys, and then using your sword to polish them all off. The number of magic options available is impressive, and mastering each one will guarantee an easy finish to the game.

Another fun part of the game (really, any RPG) is upgrading your weapons or armor and then trying them out. Sometimes you find a piece of gear in the field that’s way better than what you currently have and you can equip it on the spot. That said, most of the time you’ll be purchasing items in the shop. Something nice about Fable is you actually see the weapons and armor you equip on your character. At one point, my guy looked like a medieval knight with a sword that emitted flames on occasion, which was pretty badass. If you really want the best gear, you’re going to have to grind for it, so consider yourself warned.

Considering that Fable originated on the original Xbox, the graphics have held up remarkably well. A criticism is that the color palette can be a bit samey in places, but the polygons have held up nicely. Playing on PC, the framerate was silky smooth at 1080p resolution, even in intense battles. I played with the Steam Controller, which is something I’m trying to do with as many PC games as I can. The developers at Lionhead took the time to support the Steam Controller, and playing with it felt perfectly natural. That said, it would have been nice to invert the X axis of the camera controls.

At the end of Fable: Anniversary (after a long credit roll), I immediately wanted to learn more about Fable 2 and 3. For an action RPG, the combat is stellar. The story is good, and the writing keeps the tone of the game light and cheery. And most of all, it’s just fun, from start to finish. It’s an essential RPG for any PC, Xbox 360, or Xbox owner.
5/5

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I am glad to see that you enjoyed the game. Keep on going as for some such as my self found Fable 2 to be the best game in this amazing trilogy. I would say Fable 3 is worth completing at least one time as well. The game suffered from a rushed release in order to meet deadlines. But if it were given half a year to one more year, and Fable 3 would have been much more better. Definitely worth obtaining a refurbished or used X360 for those two games. Especially if you have yet to play Tales of Vesperia and Lost Odyssey. Since you're on PC I also wholeheartedly recommend for you to play the original Dead Rising. I will Steam gift you Dead Rising as I truly feel that this game is a must play.

Original post


8. Journey (PS4) - 1:52

Journey is an okay game. I fail to see how it got so many awards, but maybe it would've had more of an impact if I played it during its release time. Sure, it looks really great and the animations are impressive, but there's no much else there. Gameplay is pretty limited, narrative is one of those piece-it-yourself types and the last area just keeps dragging on. I did enjoy it somehow for the two hours it lasted, but I don't think there's any reason to replay it again.


9. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (PS4) - 7:25

How is this game so bad? I have always played Call of Duty games mainly for their campaigns and never understood people's affection for the Black Ops series. To me, they were pretty mediocre games with no memorable pieces. But this? This is one of the worst campaigns I have ever played. The narrative was laughably bad, acting simply terrible, and some of the scenes were just cringe worthy. None of the levels were actually fun and some of them felt like they are dragging on forever, especially in the last quarter of the game. And what's with the trance track in the end credits? Who thought that was a good idea after a slow and "emotional" final mission? The inclusion of all the different customization options between missions felt pointless and I never had to use anything besides the recommended load out. I guess they were trying to get people to feel more connected with the multiplayer aspect of the game. Another issue is the sameness of pretty much every level. Ruins, metal, tech and some sand. Most of the time I couldn't even tell apart the scenery from actual enemies and had to rely on the pulse scan to know where to shoot. The distaste from the disappointing campaign carried on into the multiplayer, as well. I tried out a couple of matches and was met with a bunch of people jumping around and killing me with two shots, no matter the distance. In the end, it was an easy pass, and since I've never been a fan of zombies, this entire package is now a completely forgettable experience, never to be revisited again. Total disappointment.


10. Alienation (PS4) - 9:16

Since the first gameplay videos, Alienation seemed like a simplified, top-down version of Destiny. You get a team of people together and go through various levels in search of better gear and loot. And while that description is pretty much spot on, and this is a smaller budget indie game, I wish there was more to it. The campaign does seam pretty substantial at first, until you realize you're just replaying the levels on a higher difficulty. There are a lot of items to collect, and it does feel like you're steadily progressing with your character, but then you finally hit the level cap and there just isn't much motivation to go past that. Playing with a team of four does feel great; unfortunately the community doesn't seem to be that large anymore. I know the developer is currently working on a new game in the same genre, but upon finding out there will be no more support for Alienation, I couldn't see any reason to keep playing.


11. Mario Party 10 (Wii U) - 8:16

Now here is a series that has been on a regular decline throughout the past couple of years. I have fond memories of the first GameCube games, but ever since moving to the Wii, it just hasn't been the same. Especially the mind boggling decision to have every character move together, riding in a vehicle. The trend continues in this iteration and it is still an annoying design choice. The game itself does have some nice looking levels (like the airship one), but playing them just isn't much fun. Minigames actually rarely happen and you spend most of the time watching other characters take their turn. The inclusion of two new modes is appreciated. First is Bowser Party, which lets the fifth player control the titular bad guy and try to prevent the others from reaching the goal. amiibo Party is also there and actually plays more like a standard Mario Party would, with a minigame after every turn. Problem is, besides actually needing amiibos to even play this, every single action requires you to scan your figure on the gamepad. Want to roll the dice? Scan. Choose an action for a special block? Scan. It gets really tiresome. The boards are also really small, which is a shame since they have some really cool aesthetics.

Lightningboalt said:

Original Post

8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 10/10, 21 hours
Absolutely excellent... for cases 1 through 4. Rise from the Ashes was nonsensical garbage and dragged on for way too long. HOWEVER, for my rating I'm going to ignore Rise from the Ashes because it's basically additional DLC content anyhow. The whole story arc from cases 2 to 4 is incredibly well done. It's almost surprising that this game became a franchise, because by the end of case 4 it feels like a perfectly told story with a great conclusion. The whole Phoenix/Edgeworth reconnection arc is done so incredibly well, long lost friend seems different, shows signs of still being a good guy, and then is ultimately redeemed as Nick reconnects with him. The writing balances goofy humor and complete seriousness in a way that very few other games can manage. I loved this game and can't wait to play the rest of the original trilogy (that's all I currently own).

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The game itself is okay overall. I don't like the investigation at all, BUT the music is what makes the first Ace Attorney (the first and only on I really paid attention to) absolutely incredible and hilarious. The fucking hype in the court room when setting up and executing a conviction and or /plot twist is a one of a kind vg experience just based on the music and character faces alone. Put a smile on my face very single time.

OP --> http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=228658856&postcount=553

12. Night in the Woods
~8 Hours
+ The artstyle is very cool
+ Some of the characters are gold, first and foremost Gregg & Angus. Gregg Rulez ok. Same goes for Mae's parents.
+ The humour can be veeery quirky at times, it hits mostly, though
+ The day to day stories range from emotional, funny to interesting.
+ The notebook is a nice way of denoting your progress both in the main story, but also all the other random stuff you encounter.
+ The game has a game in a game and a fake Computer interface. That's amazing no matter how you slice it.

o The music while not outstanding is fitting and a nice backdrop. Sound effects and the like are great, though.

- Mae can be very annoying, which in itself is not much of a problem. If you give me dialogue options though and I can choose between "You suck" and "Youuuuuu suck!", there is a certain disconnect. One party scene in particular made me vomit.
- I am sick of ambiguity in these types of indie games... to a certain degree.
- The calender system just like in Persona can get on my nerves at times and put the game into an unnecessary rigid corset.
3/5

Plan for the Future in the next few month
Final Fantasy VI
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Persona 5
Nier: Automata
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 & 2.5 REmix
Danganronpa 1 & 2 Reload
Yakuza Kiwami

Still working on
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy VII
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

arigato said:

I am glad to see that you enjoyed the game. Keep on going as for some such as my self found Fable 2 to be the best game in this amazing trilogy. I would say Fable 3 is worth completing at least one time as well. The game suffered from a rushed release in order to meet deadlines. But if it were given half a year to one more year, and Fable 3 would have been much more better. Definitely worth obtaining a refurbished or used X360 for those two games. Especially if you have yet to play Tales of Vesperia and Lost Odyssey. Since you're on PC I also wholeheartedly recommend for you to play the original Dead Rising. I will Steam gift you Dead Rising as I truly feel that this game is a must play.

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Thanks. I actually have a Xbox 360 so I'm going to see if Fable 2 is available for download. Sad to hear that Fable 3 was rushed. Anyway, I appreciate the recommendations!

1. Mafia 3
Loved the story of this game, just wish it was less padded. Excited for the DLC.

2. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - 100+ hours
I finished the base game last year, but in 2017 I finished all the expansion content. I loved it, one of my top games ever. I'm waiting until I have some free time to try out the first one because now I am obsessed with the world.

3. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - 64 hours
I wanted to finish this game before the Switch came out, and I just barely made it. Great style, rewarding combat, has me real excited for Persona 5.

4. Hitman
I've played this game a ton and I will continue to play it a ton, but I finished the "story" mode and so I'm calling it finished.

11. Hacknet: I bought this following the Giant Bomb 2015 game of the year podcasts where Jeff was talking about it. I had a quick blast on it and enjoyed it back then but never finished it. With an update to it due in March I thought I would complete it and add it to my list for this year. It is a very fun game puzzle game that rewards an investigative mind. The later missions in it have just the right level of difficulty that keeps you searching for that one bit of information that will help you move onto the next step. Took me about 8 hours to finish everything. [/b]

Master Post

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3)

A fitting modern follow-up to the classic that gave rise to the RPG/FPS hybrid.
Some rough story beats and dreadful boss battles did little to spoil my overall enjoyment.

Aiming to finish by April:
Furi (PS4)
Nioh (PS4)
Remember Me (PS3)

Recently acquired:
Gravity Rush 2 (PS4)
Pokemon Moon (3DS)

Notes:
Just finished Human Revolution in time for April!
HR ending spoilers: Pretty excited for Mankind Divided now.
Had been putting off getting the new Pokemon for a while, but a colleague managed to convince me to grab it. Really liking it so far!

Original post
10.

(PS4)
Beaten in 18 hours on Normal, all bobble heads burst

I found this being a game that I simply chipped away at after each late shift in work. Unlike RE's recent output, this was a far more slow, methodical experience that I found a lot more - not relaxing, but certainly not more tense and frantic.

That's not to say the game isn't doubling down on horror, it held and maintained a great air of chilling suspense, and didn't break said suspense with too many jumpscares. As someone who likes to explore every corner of an environment I found this game to be far more lenient on this play style than either the classic 3 installations of the series, and the action 3 additions too, which again really helped with me relaxing and enjoying the game for all it's little quirks.

I found the puzzle solving to be a touch lacking than I'd expect from a slow paced RE, but I'm not too sure whether the high standard I hold some of the older games is based on nostalgic reflection or not. I did find the overwhelmingly elaborate art style dedicated to some puzzles and locks (the dog heads being the first to spring to mind) a nice call back to Spencer Mansion but also funny considering the fact this is a Louisiana home with a small, seemingly working class to middle class family residing in it - it added a bit to the campiness, a staple of the series.

However, an aspect that was never a staple was omnipresent here, and it was something I loved more than anything else in the game: the characters, or to be more specific, their performances. Every single member of the Bakers is more memorable than a whole plethora of RE villains, with Jack obviously being the front runner. Their interactions with Ethan are easily the most thrilling parts of the game, (outpacing any of the other Mold enemy encounters that I simply found frustrating in parts), the way they mock him during their patrols, and the quasi-Nemesis/Mr. X mannerisms of simply coming through secure walls at times, their apparent invincibility, well designed boss fights that offer you fleeting signs of empowerment (a car, a chainsaw etc) only for them to strip that sense of confidence away seconds later (seriously, it's a rare sense of fear where you're holding a chainsaw and shotgun, and yet you still have the lame weapons compared to the boss) and their gruesome quirks made them the driving force that carried this game - moreso than Ethan or Mia, or even Zoe Baker for that part. I was fascinated by this small family in a way RE hasn't had me captivated for years.

The game kinda choked itself during the final act, I'd say there could have been more work put into making your whole journey as Ethan mean something more than the end of the game implied. I haven't delved into any DLC that seems to focus on gameplay post completion so I can't say for sure if any loose ends are tied up there, but I felt with each departure from the main roster of villains, the overall charm of the game waned a bit.

Still, as an RE fan, I loved this, and, considering the change in focus on young players Capcom was ranting about back in 2013/2014 (I think), to see them 180 back into survival horror like this is promising that there are still some in that company that value this series more than just a cash cow.

Overall: 8/10

Coming up:
The Legend of Korra
Grim Fandango Remastered
Night in the Woods
Final Fantasy XV

The Legend of Korra

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Uh, that's a great filler game.

*and so begins the hunt for short games I wouldn't have played otherwise...*

Karu said:

Uh, that's a great filler game.

*and so begins the hunt for short games I wouldn't have played otherwise...*

Spoiler

Nah. Fan of Platinum and the franchise. Actually quite interested, even if it is bad as reviews suggest.

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Yeah, not too sure what to think of it from the half hour I put in way back when I bought it, but since I'm rinsing myself of a chunk of my backlog in doing this 52 a year, and after FF7 and RE7, I think a little character action title is in order. Will be posting my thoughts on it pretty soon, if reports of its length are anything to go by.

Original Post

Got an NES Classic today. So uh, +2 completed games today.

10. Castlevania - 9/10, One Hour
I've never actually beaten this before, only ever got up to Death before today. I kinda really hate the Dracula fight. Still, I do love original Castlevania. It's very well designed, for the most part... the randomized elements are easily the worst thing in the game (Fleamen, birds that drop fleamen, crows, Death's scythes, Dracula's teleports). But the rest is so solid that it's easy to ignore those things beyond being a bit annoyed. The gameplay is simple and methodical - I hate superfluous Dark Souls comparisons, but in a lot of ways you can see the influence of original Castlevania on the Souls series in how it incentivizes taking things slow and while mastering your toolset and developing an awareness of what you're getting yourself into.

11. Kirby's Adventure - 10/10, 4 Hours
Honestly, my absolute favorite NES game. Great levels, fantastic soundtrack, and always fun to play. Personally I think this game has aged better than almost every other NES game - only knock against it is that the performance slows to a crawl when there's a lot of enemies on screen (better hope there's no Sparkies attacking!). It was great to revisit this game, it's been way too long.

Karu said:

The game itself is okay overall. I don't like the investigation at all, BUT the music is what makes the first Ace Attorney (the first and only on I really paid attention to) absolutely incredible and hilarious. The fucking hype in the court room when setting up and executing a conviction and or /plot twist is a one of a kind vg experience just based on the music and character faces alone. Put a smile on my face very single time.

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Yeah, the music and the animations really heighten the experience a lot. There's a ton of charm in the writing, and then the music and spritework really put in a lot of work to reflect that. It's just a very enjoyable experience, being in the moment experiencing the wacky courtroom drama is just pretty special.

Ninja Commando is a 1992 action game developed by ADK.
It features Christopher Lloyd as a young Doctor Brown trying to take over the world using time travel.
You play as any of 3 ninjas who set out to stop him by traveling through time and blowing up the minions he allied with to further his goal.
This game is part of the ADK Damashi/Tamashi collection which was released in Japan on PS2 and this JP release got a digital re-release on US PSN.
You damage enemies by firing projectiles and you can dodge incoming attacks by pressing the Dodge button. However enemies and projectiles can take up 2/3s of the upper screne giving you little room for dodging their attacks. This made the game become such a coin cruncher as I died many times and kepy continuing, doesn't help that the game becomes very unfair the father you progress.
Despite all that however I still found it a charming game to play and an interesting relic of the early 90s Japan arcade games.

Interestingly enough Shock Troopers would take this game's concept and greatly improve on it.

9. Velocity 2X - 8,2 Hours


Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed On: 24.2.2017
Rating: 7 / 10
A nice SHMUP / side scroller with teleportation that gets a little boring in the end.


10. Warcraft II - 10 Hours


Platform: PC
Completed On: 26.2.2017
Rating: 9 / 10
One of the best RTS until today. The game mechanics work so great. Played it when it was released like mad and it is still fun and playable nowadays. Just went through the human campaign.


11. Stealth Bastard Deluxe - 9.8 Hours


Platform: PC (Steam)
Completed On: 28.2.2017
Rating: 7 / 10
Altough this game began very good and catched me, there are a few levels where the design wasn't quite well done.

Oh gosh, this month could have gone better for sure. I'm soooo happy I managed to squeeze in these three at the end!



Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series - PC - Completed Feb 24



Paint it Back - PC - Completed Feb 24



L.A. Noire - PC - Completed Feb 27


----------------
Master Post

Didn't have that much time this month because I moved to the UK. Started some games: X-com 2, Banner Saga and played a lot of FM 2017 in the downtime.

Finished one:

7. Mafia 3 - ★★★★☆ - Trophy completion: 76% - Finished: 28/02/2017

Loved it. Amazing delivery of the story trough amazing performances. Very interesting time period as well. Didn't mind the grindy bits as i streched the game out over the month.

Now it's shooter time as im going to start DOOM in a bit and i'm planning to finish up BF 1 this month.

Original Post

15) Battletoads Arcade Edition(XB1) 2/26

Well I initially tried to take down Battletoads via Rare Replay and with all of my tricks of the trade including rewind, I got all the way to Stage 11 before the awful game design took into effect and took me down. I for the life of me never can understand why they have the spinning wheel run faster than you in a straight line, that's awful. Just a incoherent mess for Stage 10 and 11 after I was actually enjoying the game from Stage 1 through 9.

I did take down Battletoads Arcade Edition however and it takes the good parts of the original Battletoads and gives you about an hour's worth of beat em up fun. The game is full of personality, knows what it is, very seldom does it throw you anything other than a side screen beat em up. One of the better beat em up's I played and the game thing with this is the infinite continue ability which is fantastic so I can just die and not suffer any consequences as I played this single player and not with someone else.

The only 2 gripes I can throw out for this game are:

1) The ability to pick a toad was not working for me, the border of this game says one button for one toad, another button for another toad and a 3rd button for another toad but after dying when you press it you do not get any other toad but the toad you started out with. I kept getting Rash and could not get Pimple or even Zitz...and while the main bulk of gameplay has the toads using the same formulated moves, there are minor differences. Like I was playing Pimple for a brief moment and he as always was my favorite toad as he was the strongest of the 3 and he had some cool moves like a TOUCHDOWN helmet tackle instead of a running boot from Rash and he can lift crates up with one arm though he's naturally slower to react than the others.

If I had my call, I would have wanted to rock with Pimple but I wasn't able to switch it up which is a shame.

2) The game ends very much abruptly and you do not even get to face off with The Iconic Dark Queen, I saw the acheivement pop up after beating Manus and said "WHAT THATS IT?". No ultimate boss fight with the dark queen, just ended out of the blue. What resolution did they get vs Dark Queen? She can still go about conquering the world.....

But in all seriousness, the final boss of this game actually hurt my hands so in that regard, I am kind of glad I didn't have to do another level or two lol. So much bullet hell, what am I playing a beat em up or Metal Slug?

Recommendation: Yay or Nay?

Yeah it's a good beat em up game and for the hour that you get out of the game, I would say there's plenty of fun to be had. You have to know going in what you're getting out of this game and I wanted a fun beat em up game that isn't ridiculously hard and I got it from this game. Maybe some would prefer a little more meat on the bone but as someone who grew up with beat em ups, I know that they can be finished within an hour or so of gameplay so nothing too shocking though the last boss being what it was....was unsatisfying and shocking.

Ladekabel said:

February:

Game 3: Superhot (PC): It's the most innovative shooter I played in years! 5/5

Game 4: Rhythm Heaven Megamix (3DS): I brought Tibby back to Heaven World. Technically there are still a few levels left but I saw credits (and the levels now are a little bit too hard for me). Overall I really like it even if some of the rhythm games are terrible. My biggest problem is some games being either too fast, too slightly off-beat to play or both. No score.

Game 5: Yakuza 3 (PS3): My imtroduction to the series and I loved it. Definitely will continue with the series. Enjoyable combat, detailed world, style and a cool soundtrack. Didn't bother much with the sode stuff and it has a little bit of early gen jank. Still a good game overall though. 3/5

Game 6: Ys Origin (PC): I love the Ys series and Origin is probably my favorite one so far. Three characters, three versions of the same story. Sadly, one story mostly ignores the other two. 4/5.

Game 7: Refunct (PC): Really, really short, little and neat first-person platformer. 3/5

Game 8: Child of Eden (PS3): I like neon, particles and neon particles. I love the music and the presentation in Child of Eden but I really didn't enjoy two of the five levels. And some parts they added on the fundamentals set by Rez I didn't like, too. 3/5

Game 9: To the Moon (PC): A neat and unique story with a nice presentation. Almost had a tear in my eye. It's probably unfair, but the controls hindered my enjoyment. Especially in a later part of the game. 3/5

Game 10: Helly Yeah! (PC): I really wanted to like but the game is hit or miss and misses more in my opinion. 3/5

Game 11: Momodora: Reverie under the Moonlight (PC): Great Metroidvania. Looks good, controls good but the soundtrack is forgetable imo. 4/5

Game 12: Octodad - Dadliest Catch (PC): Funny little physics thingie that is as long as its gimmick is interesting. 3/5

Currently Playing: The Zelda waiting game

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February update. Quite productive.

Main post

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Game #16: Manual Samuel (XB1) - ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Manual Samuel is a pretty good game, all things considered; there's really nothing like it that I have tried. I like the visuals, setting, story, and the gameplay (for the most part). It was fun, though it started to slip by the end when gameplay got far more frustrating all of a sudden.

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Game #17: Dragon Quest Builders (Vita) - ★★★★★★★★★★

Just finished this game, and hoo boy, what a fun game it was. It definitely had some problems - character AI can be a little frustrating at times, and it's hard to make them do what you want them to (ie, I built a second floor and put bedrooms up there, but no one wanted to go upstairs ) - but ultimately, it was a super fun experience, and one that surprised the heck out of me. I went in expecting Minecraft, but a more accurate way would be ActRaiser. Both games are about a person sent by a god to restore humanity to stability in a world controlled by evil, where you have to develop from town to town in between combat situations while taking requests and tasks from the villagers.

The game was a huge nostalgia trip; not only with all of the memorable enemies that I've never seen look as good as they do in this game, but also that it takes after the very first Dragon Quest game. It was mostly a great effort at that, with my only real misgiving being that It also has traditionally great Dragon Quest writing as well as a surprisingly endearing cast of NPCs. It's a good game in its own right, and a must-own for any Dragon Quest fan with a Vita or PS4. I reeeally hope they make a sequel (and localize it).

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Game #18: DJMax Portable 3 (PSP) - ★★★★★★★★★★

Whoof, what a fun game. I bought it on a sale, and I am definitely glad that I did. Rhythm/music games are perhaps my favorite kinds of games, and DJMax Portable 3 plays very well and very intelligently. That I can adjust the speed so quickly and easily is great, and I love the options available for controls, with all of them being great.

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Game #19: Doodle God (Vita) - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Whoof, what a shit game. I remember sort of liking this when I was younger (apparently there was also fewer combinations of things, making it that much easier to get through. Here, so many of the combinations make no sense, or at the very least only make sense when you combine them (in the sense of "I guess I can see what their mindset was??).

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Game #20: Banjo-Kazooie (360) - ★★★★★★★★★★

Banjo-Kazooie is easily my favorite 3D platformer on the N64, though it's not without its problems. At this stage in the N64's life, it felt like the best way to do a 3D platformer was to focus more on exploration and contained platforming challenges than to try to copy wholesale platform mechanics from 2D games. With some exceptions, B-K fulfills this, playing more with 3D trickery and asking players to examine their surroundings to find secrets rather than ask players to fight against the controls while players try to traverse platforms over bottomless pits. The main issue with Banjo-Kazooie is the final two levels, Rusty Bucket Bay and Click Clock Woods. Overall very good levels - CCW is a great concept too, I was very surprised by how interesting the level's season-changing mechanic was - but the levels have way too many "fall and yer fucked" kinda things. It does help that Kazooie gives an extra bit of horizontal jump distance, but it's still not as precise as it could be. I also don't like how I have to get all Jiggies to get the final boss battle; I just don't really want to deal with either of the ice levels, leaving me about six behind.

Spyware said:

L.A. Noire - PC - Completed Feb 27

I played this back at release on PS3. I liked it then and I think I like it a little bit more now. I used a guide for the interviews and it made me realise what they wanted me to look for in most cases. It wasn't as random as I thought when I played it the first time... except for some of them that are just a horrible mess and total guesswork. The fact that "truth", "doubt" and "lie" don't make sense is part of the problem. Truth should have been "coax" because it's mostly used to say "Yes, and more?" in a relatively friendly way. Doubt should be "force" like it was once supposedly labeled. And "lie" should have been... something better. It's not always used to say "you're lying" so it can be confusing. Anyways, I enjoyed my time with the partners, at the crime scenes and driving around the city. I would love a sequel or something.​

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I remember the absolute ridiclious overreaction of the mc when choosing a rather negative reaction to what a suspect said. Hated the game overall, my very first full-price purchase regret. The gameplay sounds amazing on paper, but when executed it just seemed really poorly thought-out and incredibly flat with an admittedly awesome face animation-tech. Loved the city itself, though. I really like smaller scale open worlds like Watch_Dogs, LA Noire or (so I heard) the early Mafia games which aren't plastered with shits.

Original Post

For the month of February I completed 8 games

My progress for this challenge is 19/52

1. Dragon Quest 3 – Finished February 1 – 25 hours

I enjoyed this game. It builds upon the formula of the first two games (which I also enjoyed) and improves upon them. The world map being based on the actual world is pretty cool. I really would like this game a lot more if it would stop crashing on me after I beat the final boss. Final party was soldier, hero, fighter, and sage.

2. Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition – Finished on February 4 – 7 hours

I completed the story mode and did a few arcade mode things. The story mode was pretty cool for a fighting game. Normally I'm not much for fighting games but this one was really fun. I played the story mode of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe once upon a time and it was just not that great of a story. In this game it felt natural how you had much of the cast introduced in the first few chapters and the story progressed from there. The actual fighting was fun too. Controls were pretty easy to get down and some combos easy to pull off. I'd probably get my ass kicked if I played online. Most fighters have felt at least somewhat unique. My favorites were Flash and Cyborg. It just felt natural to be able to combo well with them. I struggled with Superman and Aquaman. Batman and Green Lantern were also good. The crazy part of me feels like trying to grind out level 100. I feel like that would take me a lot longer since I'm not going to play online since I don't have Plus. But I am around level 34 so perhaps level 50 is a more reasonable goal for the future.

3. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins – Finished on February 4 – 1 hour, 58 minutes

This game was the forbidden fruit for me as a kid. My sister owned a Game Boy and this was her game and she never would let me play it. I've beaten it a few times on VC now but never got to beat it on a cart back in the day. The game is incredibly fun with wild level themes such as Halloween or a robotic Mario and even you as Mario very tiny in a house. Even the bosses you fight are varied. You have one zone where it is the three little pigs, another zone where Tatanga from Super Mario Land returns, and of course the main villain himself Wario. This game is incredibly easy up until the final level. It is like they took all the difficulty that wasn't present in the main game and put it in the first few floors of Wario's Castle. Wario himself is pretty easy especially once you get through the first phase. For this run I once again got all 32 exits. This game is a lot of fun despite being easy and I so wish that the assets for this game were included in the 3DS version of Mario Maker.

4. Pokemon Fire Red – Finished on February 13 – 29 hours, 15 minutes

I was watching someone stream this game and decided on a whim to replay it. I wasn't feeling well over the weekend so all I did was sit and grind out pokemon battles. My team of Blastoise, Nidoking, Primeape, Raichu, Arcanine, and Exeggutor slogged their way through virtually every trainer in the game. Hardest fight of the E4? Lorelei of course. Even Lance was easy because I had a good mix of strong attackers. Having to wait the whole game to get the Earthquake TM stunk. Not getting Sludge Bomb during the main game stunk. Nidoking was a little gimped during the midgame but being able to learn Dig in this version really helped. Knowing what level to catch Growlithe so it still had Bite was huge. In the end the team was carried by Raichu with Thunderbolt, Blastoise with Surf and Ice Beam, and Exeggutor tanking my rival's Alakazam long enough to get it Leech Seeded and put to sleep. Rival surprisingly did not use any items. What is next for this pokemon master? Pokemon Moon with a team of my choosing of course.

5. Super Mario Advance – Finished on February 17 – 3 hours, 30 minutes

This game is honestly horrible. Don't play it. I made it through much of the game without hitting a game over and then game overed about 20 times in world 7. My deaths are a solid combination of terrible physics, terrible hit boxes, and just terrible game design. I have no idea what it takes to grab ladders or chains to climb. Sometimes you get lucky and hit it but if not you have no chance. They even made the game easier in terms of almost constantly having health available to you and this game is still borderline unplayable. I was doing a thing where I'd play the handheld versions of the Super Mario All-Stars games plus World and Yoshi's Island and I'm just done with this one. 7-2 seriously sucks and you have to go completely out of your way to find mushrooms to buff your health. I stopped having fun with the game around the 30th death on sparks in 7-2. I'm considering it done for my own sanity. I am so happy to move on to Lost Levels or SMB3 over this crap. Least fun I've ever had.

6. Fire Emblem Heroes – Finished on February 18 – 9 hours

I enjoy Fire Emblem games and this game is obviously a little different but still fun. The gameplay itself is simpler with no hit/dodge chance and no chance for critical strikes. The story is fairly bare bones as well. I finished the Story Mode on Normal and will probably keep playing for a little while longer in the attempt to get more of my favorites. No guarantees I'll finish the game on Hard or even Lunatic. I really want to avoid paying much for anything because I'm very fickle and could easily just drop the game like I did with Pokemon Go when the grind got to be too much there. Feel like the game is worthwhile for veterans and newcomers alike. The fan service of being able to have your favorite units from across many different games together on one team is really fun. It also serves as a cool intro to many games for newcomers to the series who may not be sure if they want to start playing Fire Emblem games.

7. The Wolf Among Us – Finished on February 19 – 10 hours

This game was a joy to play. I have read roughly the first 45 or 50 issues of Fables so I know the world and the characters a little bit. I seriously played through this game from start to finish in one day over two sittings. I will be going back and getting a few Fables Book entries for the Platinum trophy. This game blows Game of Thrones out of the water. The combat was better. The story was better and it actually went places. I actually liked many of the characters but missed some of my favorites from the comic (Boy Blue and Pinocchio are among my favorites and only get a passing mention at one particular spot). Overall a worthwhile experience for the $5 I paid for it in last month's flash sale. Would recommend to anyone who is a fan of Telltale style games or the Fables comic books.

8. Pokemon Moon – Finished on February 25 – 27 hours, 40 minutes

I had previously played Sun last year when these came out. I played this mostly to be able to complete my pokedex and because I had so much fun playing Fire Red. My team was Incineroar, Toucannon, Araquanid, Exeggutor, Alakazam, and Gengar. A lot of my favorites in this group. Toucannon I honestly intended to get rid of but never did. I really hope we get direct sequels to these games in Gen VII so they can flesh out Alola a lot more. I feel there is a lot of potential there. I feel like not only as a story driven RPG this game was good but also giving character and flavor to the Alola region itself worked really well this time. Alola forms were cool although I always wish for more in this department. The trial system was good but I feel like they could easily refine it and add in gyms instead of the grand kahuna trial and have a really diverse and fun system. I really wish that mega stones and mega pokemon were more a part of the game. They spent all last gen building that up and in this game it is just a forgotten thing. It really feels like a waste for a game that gives you all sorts of key and unique items for pokemon in generations past but the big gameplay mechanic for the previous generation is just completely gone until you fight someone in the postgame and unlock it. I get that they want to characterize the Alola pokemon scene as a little backwoods and primitive but I feel like adding that little wrinkle to both other trainers and bosses and you would have been amazing. Having to deal with a trainer that has Z-moves and megas at their disposal would have been a real treat.

I'm ahead of silky by one, hooray

I'm gonna get to 52 games first again, I just know it o wo

Original Post. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=227815833&postcount=394

Here is my February list.

Burglekutt said:

(19/52)

February
11. Abzu- Not much in terms of gameplay but wow is it beautiful.
12. Infamous: First Light -Was interested in this game and actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
13. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Pretty fun game, good campaign but I still liked Titanfall 2 better.
14. Little Big Planet 3- OK game, short main campaign, fun to check out what other people have created.
15. Never Alone- Annoying when your AI controlled partner dies on their own but otherwise a solid platformer.
16. How We Soar- It was alright but it felt like I was flying on slow motion the entire time
17. The Last Guardian- Its a pain in the ass 95% of the time due to terrible controls but it has one hell of an ending
18. Dishonored- Great Game. I wanted to play it again because I'm planning on playing the sequel in the near future.
19. Tales From the Borderlands- Most fun I have had with a Telltale game that i have played.

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I'm hoping for another good couple of weeks because I'm sure the new Mass Effect will eat up a lot of my late March/early April time.

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February's over, so here's my update. I imagine March may be a slow month for me with Zelda and all.


Folklore: January 29-February 4
Quite the forgotten first party game. It's physical only, and copies are rare. Surprising to see that demos and DLC for it still exist on the PS Store. Folklore does a surprisingly good job of having a story with two sides that aren't merely different perspectives but rather two different stories with some common elements. The death of a mysterious woman on an island draws the female protagonist to search for her mother while the male protagonist works to solve a murder. I found myself pursuing the mysteries of Ellen's mother, the murder, and the village's secrets because I am genuinely interested in them, not merely because it's necessary to progress the game. More sidequests add into the story than don't—they're worth doing purely to learn more about characters and the setting. The story is surprisingly well written with a good twist or two with suddenly antagonistic characters. Gameplay differs between the two characters. Some things are in different locations, and Folk (and thus their usage as weapons) can differ greatly between Keats and Ellen. Combat can play out entirely differently due to this and the fact that Ellen has cloaks, regenerative magic, and status-based Folk; whereas Keats has a transformation, an instantly refilling magic meter, and direct attack Folk. These help keep things relatively fresh, but overall the gameplay gets repetitive. You eventually figure out the game's pattern and hit a ceiling. It doesn't exactly become boring, but it does get mind-numbing. There are also annoying encounters with simultaneous multiple Folk that have the special Id absorption things. You must choose between killing them without experience gain or going through the headache of trying to absorb before you get attacked. This game is a hidden nugget from the PlayStation 3's infancy, doomed to be forgotten. At least one more person will carry on this game's memory.



Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: February 4-5
It is what it is. A simple puzzle game with optional challenges laid bare purely for your own satisfaction. Short, fun, rewarding, simple. There is honestly not much to say about it.


No More Heroes: February 7-9
No More Heroes is janky, repetitive, and somewhat easy. There's a pointless overworld that only serves to add artificial length. The plot has many missing pieces and goes nowhere. Framerate is all over the place. The game is just a big loop of fighting mooks, fighting ranked assassins, doing part time jobs, doing assassination jobs, and repeat with some upgrades sprinkled in. Despite all this, I had fun. There's something about its blatant disregard for the very formula it employs. Bosses were fun to analyze and figure out even if they were on the easy and repetitive side. As lackadaisical as the plot was, I found it to be entertaining.


Ocarina of Time 3D: Master Quest: 2014-February 12
A nice experience for seasoned Zelda masters who want something more. Some dungeons are really short because huge chunks are left unexplored or are relegated to gold skulltula fetch rushes. Some dungeons are somehow easier, like Water Temple. The game manages some fairly clever and weird stuff, ranging from cow switches in a whale to hiding things in plain sight. What it does well is play on Zelda veterans' expectations in order to force them to think outside the box. In addition, the 3DS version's mirrored overworld fucks me up but also makes dungeons feel even fresher. Master Quest is a rewarding Zelda experience, but at the same time I did not feel challenged enough. I completed the game without much difficulty. Perhaps I'm just too good for Zelda, or it's because I've played vanilla OoT a billion times. Still, it would be fine with me if more Zelda games got this treatment. Looking forward to Breath of the Wild.


Infamous: February 13-18
Infamous has one major issue that makes the entire game a pain to play: the janky parkour. You're expected to traverse the world using Cole's powers and acrobatics. That's fine on its own, but the parkour mechanics are garbage. They're automatic and often uncooperative. This is inexcusable considering that the people behind this game are the very same people who created Sly Cooper, a game with similar movement mechanics. The big difference is that Sly relies on button presses. If that were the case with Infamous, the game would easily be 10x better. Other flaws include ugly washed out graphics, repetitive combat, shit bosses, and morality for the hell of it. Enemies take way too many hits to kill and aren't that fun to take down. There is clearly some amount of copypasting going on, as various areas from the three districts appear to be identical. Why did I play through this in its entirety? It isn't a bad game, just unremarkable. I suppose the story and characters were interesting despite falling into common superhero cliches. The ending had a good twist but was a terrible cliffhanger.


Darksiders: February 18-23
This is how you make a mature Zelda game. Dungeons are excellent. Combat is good if repetitive. There's a real challenge. Every boss after the first is a bit too easy, but that could just be a result of early game hell. Story was good, protag was a bit of a boring straight man. Darksiders nails the satisfactory puzzle solving and exploration. It even does some things better than Zelda, such as being able to summon and mount your horse instantaneously. The story is coherent and enjoyable but not the greatest. The ending is a cliffhanger but an acceptable one. Rather than pad out the existing story or pull something else out the ass, it gives rise to a continuation of something that had previously been on the back burner. The existing plot wraps up, so conclusion is there. Having heard that Darksiders 2 abandons Zelda mechanics in favor of Diablo ones and doesn't continue where the first game left off, I don't intend to play it. At least not in the foreseeable future.


Infamous 2: February 23-26
Buggy mess. Constantly clipping into buildings. Sometimes Cole just won't move. Sometimes he will move in a very specific direction despite your input or lack thereof. Sometimes you can just die instantly while holding a car. Parkour was just as annoying as before. Sly did it better. Story was predictable. One dumb character assassination moment. Yet somehow, I feel like this was an improvement over the previous game. I'm convinced I don't want to get into the sequels.

February Update.

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12. Assassin's Creed Revelations - Remaster (PS4)


Finished off the Ezio trilogy. Weakest one of the bunch, so I powered through it. I still like the ending of it though.

13. Yakuza 0 (PS4)


Holy crap. My first Yakuza game ever. I spent way too much time on mini games and substories that made this game take up nearly my entire February. I'd recommend this to any brawler/RPG fan out there.

14. The Last Guardian (PS4)


Finally got around to this. I had held off until performance issues were addressed. Despite my frustration with the controls (the boy, not Trico), I really enjoyed the game storywise. That ending...

15. Longest Night: Lost Constellation (PC)


Fun little game that I decided to play ahead of Night in the Woods. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, as it wasn't a very deep game at all

16. Night in the Woods (PS4)


I really need to replay this again. I enjoyed it immensely, just wish I could play the band parts better.

17. Hollow Knight (PC)


Literally just beat this. So far, one of if not the game of the year. The sense of exploration and difficult gameplay was great. I recommend to anyone that enjoys Metroidvanias

Original Post

11) Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - 5 hours - 2/28
I was really in the mood for a FPS after I finished Primal so I decided to play Old Blood which has been in my backlog since I got it and New Order last year. I had forgotten just how good the gunplay in these games are but it is so satisfying to blow through hordes of Nazis and zombies. Some of the stealth sections are a little rigid and end up breaking down into gunfights when someone sees you from 30 feet away but that was fine for the most part. The story definitely wasn't as good as NO, but it was fun nonetheless.

TB14 - 12/52 Games

Games:

1. Aragami
2. Dishonored 2
3. ICEY
4. Lost Constellation
5. Oxenfree
6. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
7. Refunct
8. Shadow Warrior 2
9. That Dragon, Cancer
10. Thirty Flights of Loving
11. Titanfall 2
12. Watch Dogs 2

Karu said:

I remember the absolute ridiclious overreaction of the mc when choosing a rather negative reaction to what a suspect said. Hated the game overall, my very first full-price purchase regret. The gameplay sounds amazing on paper, but when executed it just seemed really poorly thought-out and incredibly flat with an admittedly awesome face animation-tech. Loved the city itself, though. I really like smaller scale open worlds like Watch_Dogs, LA Noire or (so I heard) the early Mafia games which aren't plastered with shits.

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There are a couple of situations like that but most of the time I see it as an act. It's very clear how police work functions in that world. They look down on people, think it's okay to threaten and rough people up. So he's just playing that act of the angry policeman who will beat you if you don't give him something. So I don't really see the problem

February update

Dougalism - Progress 20/52

Game 17: Mass Effect (PS3) - 13/2
Eh, not as good as I'd hoped it would be.

Game 18: Star Wars: Racers Revenge (PS2Classics) - 21/2
Far better than it has any right to be.

Game 19: Streets of Rage 2 (PS3) - 22/2
Beat on Normal with Axel. I think this might be the first time that I've beaten this, I can remember beating Streets of Rage 1.

Game 20: Titan Attacks (PS4) - 23/2
Decent little diversion. Some of the 80-100 levels were frustrating.

Mass Effect was a real struggle and completely sapped any motivation for playing games.. I just failed to care at all about it, maybe WRPG's just aren't for me?

Akin is a puzzle game where you draw a line to change the color of squares to a specific color in order to solve the puzzle. It is mainly about drawing lines really.
Had a blast playing it but it got really tough after the midway point but it was worth getting for $1 discount it was on.

14. 9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek (2 hours)
This game does most of the modern hidden object tropes rather well, and throws in another kind of puzzle that I haven't seen yet in these games but fits rather well with the genre. I enjoyed the game enough that I went back to get the last few achievements I missed during my first playthrough.

Tizoc said:

Akin is a puzzle game where you draw a line to change the color of squares to a specific color in order to solve the puzzle. It is mainly about drawing lines really.
Had a blast playing it but it got really tough after the midway point but it was worth getting for $1 discount it was on.

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Oh jeez, I'm not going to get 52 games before everyone else lmao

Not unless I cheese it

Congratulations on the pace you're going at

#29 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD ★★★★ Wii U - March 1st - 14 hours
Wanted to give this another playthrough before BOTW, was rushing through the main quest at first before I realised all the side stuff you have to do to beat the game anyway!

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.

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