First game of the year done, Urban Trial Freestyle that I got from the deliciously evil PS Plus. (Post updated here)

Shoutout to Mecha and his list of classic NES titles, that tickled my inner gaming child.

..and just like that, game #3 done. Played through Attack of the Friday Monsters! on my train ride the past couple of days. Charming little Japanese non-game. It's less than 3 hours long which is a bit of a cop-out for this 52 game challenge, but honestly, it's the short games in my backlog that I'm most ashamed of, at least the lengthy RPGs are excusable.

Updated post here.

Okies I just beat SSFIV >.>

That makes 2 / 52!

Would anyone happen ta know if Metal Gear Rising has a play time counter somewhere in-game or on its save file (PS3 ver.)? Or do I gotta keep track of when I start & stop each sesssion?

What would be considered beating a fighting Game? Would it be beating arcade mode once with one character?

Rayge said:

What would be considered beating a fighting Game? Would it be beating arcade mode once with one character?

Click to expand...

That's how I've always counted beating 'em! This threads only about beating games not necessarily fully completing 'em. So as long as ya get to the end credits or w/e you've done it!

GAME 1: Uncharted 3 - 8Hrs
Did a Speed run on this one. I really enjoyed this game up until the 19th Chapter. I felt like the ending was kind of soft tho but now that i finished all three, I think Uncharted 2 is now my favorite and i get why other people feel this way. Kudos to ND for pushing the PS3 graphics so much and making gorgeous looking games.

GAME 2: Badland- Day I - 2Hrs
WOOW!! This is hands down the best game I've played on my phone. I started playing this and i just couldn't let it go! The art, Difficulty, the sounds.. everything is just magnificent! I felt like i had to die a couple of times to know what to do but i don't mind that as long as i can do the right thing afterwards. Day I is free with ads and Day II is free if you "Save 300 clones" but im definitely going to purchase Day II later on. BTW do yourself a favor and play this with headphones on.

GAME 3: Bastion -7Hrs
Loved this story specially the narrations. I chose to pick up Zulf and Restore the Bastion because what the hell thats what I would do on his position i guess. The graphics were just simply beautiful. Every level was just beautifully crafted and well detailed. The score was beautiful as well and the hack and slash type of gameplay was really cool as well. Can't say I dont look forward to a Bastion 2.

GAME 4: Batman Arkham Origins -20Hrs
Not really my favorite Batman game but i like the new concept and it was nice to see all the villains in one single title. I get how this series separates from the preview ones and I totally dig it. I didn't like that it takes so long to beat down a gang member specially when you have to fight with a large group and too many side things to do reminds me of Ass Creed. Length is OK and the CGI's are really cool! Looking forward AA.

GAME 5: NFS Most Wanted U -22Hrs
All i gotta say is WOW the bugatti veyron on this game SUCKS! and drives like CRAP I know how they wanted you to know that the bugatti is a beast just like in real life, but they did it in a very very very very bad way. Uncontrollable, way too fucking fast and then they want you to do its challenges which were super hard for me to do with this car. Other than that, pretty solid game IMO. I like how it looks on the Wii U and I am pretty pleased with the length. The intros and the soundtrack are very good imo.

GAME 6: COD Ghosts Single Player -5Hrs
COD campaign mode keeps getting better since BO2. It's a shame that this one was so short..as always...but it was still kind of fun. I liked the whole Ghost squad thing and how badass their missions were. Speaking of missions,
GAME 7: Flower -1 Hr-ish
Beautiful indeed. Very short ( I know I didn't look for secret flowers yada yada-yada) but good overall. The sound was amazing, the level presentation was gorgeous and concept is just magical.

GAME 8: The Banner Saga -7Hrs
I didn't expect this game to be so fun and interesting. I loved the design and overall the story is pretty good. Some things could have been better a little bit different in my opinion, but it's just an indie game so its just what happens when you expect too much. I dislike the final battle because ? .. but anyways. Hes beaten now so its all good .I would love to see whats next from this studio.

GAME 9: Bombing Bastards -8Hrs
Forcing you to use Power Ups to pass a level is no fun. This game was either way too hardcore for me or poorly done overall. The whole thing is stuck in hard difficulty because there is just no way or lowering it. Bomberman was not this challenging or stressful. The levels are very well done imo tho. I love how the last 3 look and the soundtrack. It took me this long to finish because I died every 5 seconds.

GAME 10: God of War- 9Hrs
So im playing all the GoW to better understand the story. I can't believe i never played the original GoW. Even tho a lot of things made me really really angry with the mechanics, i have to give it to Santa Monica .. its a solid game. Soo freaking good! God of War is truly a gem and i personally give it a 10.

GAME 11: FEZ - 3hrs
Speedrun but didnt complete the game. Didn't like it. I wanted to get into it, but I just didn't. I couldn't. I picked it up because of all the hype it had but something about it just doesn't appeal to me. I was really hoping I liked it.

GAME 12: Dirt 3 -20hrs
I've never been interested in Dirt games but I purchased a Fanatec CSR and needed something to try it. a blast! I fell in love with the game even tho gymkhana was extremely difficult to win in 1st place. The graphics were amazing and the car selection was enough to enjoy every single race.

GAME 13: Rayman Legends -32hrs WHERES THE EASY MODE?
Oh my oh my this game was FUN! I loved it because i hated it but still loved it (if that makes sense). It's so fresh looking, hard but fun,beautiful and crazy! I just couldn't stop playing it. I bought an extra battery for my Wii U gamepad just so i could play this game for hours nonstop.

GAME 14: South Park the stick of truth -15Hrs
I want this game to come out every year. Period. This game is hilarious and dirty from the beginning to the end. I freaking absolutely loved Jimmy and hes hands down the best character on this game imo. It made me laugh a LOT!. The game is not hard at all which I wasn't expecting, but I helps you enjoy it even more and its really really funny and great if you play this game without any type of seriousness, with an open mind, preferably high and look at the game overall as a complete joke.

GAME 15: God of War II -13Hrs
So glad Im playing all the GoW to better understand the story. A lot of things makes sense now and I can feel how they improved the mechanics and how well the graphics got. I couldn't ask for more of a God of War game. The length is always perfect and closes up in a very unique way. It doesn't make you feel as the game needed more or as it was too much.

GAME 16: Alan Wake's American Nightmare -6Hrs
Play this game while high. I bet you...LOL! It was awesome. Im not for horror games but i let this one pass because the suspense is not that great plus i was high so i was like what the hell whatever... I mean it does have its moments, but its not that great.I played this on my PC and Oh boy does it looks good! I remember how much i wanted an Alan Wake 360's sequel with better graphics but now that its not happening, i guess this will do. but getting all the transcripts at least gave me that feel of accomplishment. The arcade mode is really cool. I played about half of the arcade and called it a day.

GAME 17: Super Mario 3D World -40 ish hours
OH..MY..GOD! I put this game before any next gen game from 2013 to 2014 and probably 2015. I mean..FUCK! Mind-blown! Ok first of all, lets talk graphics. It is absolutely gorgeous! The level design its superb! The details, the colors, the characters, the little things throughout the game look insanely cool! Difficulty: I dont remember playing a Mario game that was so hard as SM3DW. The first world is ok, but after that? you better hold on to that controller because you will probably think about slamming it. As soon as you get to the "Bonus worlds" is crazy time. Its not even hard anymore, its get ready have a heart attack. Characters: Todd freaking suck. Why is he even in the game? He can't jump and i find him slow. I lost many lives while playing as him. Luigi tho, give that guy another Wii U title ASAP. The..Man. and OMFG !!!! Overall A+ 10/10 Suma Cum laude.

GAME 18: Far Cry Blood Dragon -5Hrs
This game is ridiculously fun! Soo many puns and jokes its unbelievable but really fun overall. I loved the retro style and i wish i had more games like that. I only played thru the story and took over a couple of camps here and there but the experience was fun.

GAME 19: God of War: Chains of Olympus -7hrs
I remember playing this game on my PSP a while back and not enjoying it very much. Now i played it better on my PS3 and to top it all, in 3D! This was my very first time playing a game in 3D mode and I loved it!! Found a bunch of bugs throughout the game like archers would stop shooting arrows at me for some reason, the music would just stop playing at times and the camera would throw me to the other side of the level for some reason. Very odd.. I liked this game quite much. Short, yes, but I liked the connections with the PS3 titles.

GAME 20: Monuments Valley -1.5hr
The art design is incredibly beautiful. I took a screenshot of every level to use em as wallpapers because thats how great each level was. The only complain I have is that it got only easier and easier. The last level was long, but still kind of easy. I actually only had difficulty on one or two levels.

GAME 21: Nano Assault Neo -3hrs
This game is nasty yo! Did i just play on a heart with algae? like wtf? Fun game overall tho. I hated when i lost because i had to go all the way back to the start again and some of the levels were very frustrating. Very cool good looking and detailed graphics as well. Kinda sucked that its very very short but i guess its a score game? proving who has the highest score idk.

GAME 22: DmC - Devil May Cry -8Hrs
Really fun game imo. With all due respect to Bayonetta, this was one of the most entertaining hack and slash games that ive played. Actually, because of this game I might get more into hack and slash games. Durante's sauce made it all even better. The story was kind of meh tho but i've never been into DmC games before so Its not like I was going to get it anyways. I didn't complete the game 100%, but what I did was enough to feel as if I did most of the whole game. Looking forward to another Hack and Slash game.

GAME 23: Splinter Cell Blacklist -32Hrs
Oh man I dont know what to say about this game. Sometimes it was awesome and then other times it was plain boring and weird. I played this on my Wii U, so I couldn't even do the co op missions because it was a pain to join someone. It would take forever or never join. Some missions were terrible specially the last one. This is the first time that I dislike a Splinter Cell game. So disappointed! I really hope they pull it off on the next one.

GAME 24: Watch_Dogs -20Hrs
First off, I don't understand how this game for 8s and 9s. Imo it's nowhere near that score. The driving is HORRIBLE, the shooting could use some work and even the story overall could've been better. The graphics are very well done, but thats all there is and Its funny that I say that because it ran horribly on my PC. This is just another Ass Creed game but in the modern world. I wanted to finish this game as close as 100% as possible, but halfway through it I decided to just play the main missions and finish it off instead. The only thing that I absolutely loved about WD was the last mission and it wasn't only because I knew I was going to finally finish the game. The last mission its actually very entertaining and challenging. I think its the only mission that doesn't feel scripted and if the whole game were like this mission, I would feel like giving it at least a 9. I can't say I look forward to a sequel but I really hope they take their time to work on the details that could make this game feel more realistic.

GAME 25: God of War III -10hrs
WHAT.A.MASTERPIECE! I saw a thread here about how good GOW3 looked but I never paid close attention. This game looks incredible! For a second I thought I was playing a next gen game! I loved the graphics and the story (im really excited to see whats gonna happen on GOW PS4). Some things that got me mad were some of the enemies. I really liked the combos that I was achieving, but some enemies took forever to die.Don't get me wrong, thats fine at all but im supposed to be a god of war. I should be able to annihilate anything thats not stronger than me and not fight with some dudes for more than 20 seconds just because he has a lance.I remember fighting with some monster for 3 minutes and it wasn't even a boss fight! My favorite fight was the one with Zeus tho.

GAME 26: Killzone Shadowfall -12hrs
This game was so bad. So So bad. I finished it mainly because I wanted to get over it. Let me start with the missions...I don't know if it was a glitch or not, but I noticed that the game doesn't tell you what to do or where to go. Yes, It gives you a dot with a letter and thats supposed to be your next objective, but It also gives you a huge terrain and it doesn't really tell you exactly how to get there.You have to kinda figure everything out which I don't really like on an FPS game. Second, the drone. What a stupid drone! At least let me upgrade it to make it better! I activate it to defend me against the soldiers and it dies instantly. At least it helps me out with the shield but still, It could've been better it I could upgrade it. I've never played a Killzone game and I think that I never will again. It looks beautiful tho, but thats it.

GAME 27: Transistor -8Hrs
No idea what was going on. I didn't understood the story at all, but it was an "OK" game. The levels were well done, the way the graphics transmitted some kind of feeling were spot on, the soundtrack is amazing and I was digging the strategy-like fighting mechanics.

GAME 28: Child of Light -19Hrs
Oh Ubi... if you could just keep making games like this and let other studios license UbiArt you will be the best company ever. I don't care what you say, what you think or what you've heard. Child of Light is one the most beautiful, well made, interesting and awesome games ever. Solid 10 hands down. I couldn't ask for more even tho I would love to have more of Child of Light. The music is so beautiful and the story specially how everything is being told as a beautiful and well made poem. Every level is extremely well made but that last level...Oh man that last level. So beautiful and confusing but yet entertaining. Theres really nothing more to say. Another game of the year contender in my opinion or at least for me.

GAME 29: Puppeteer -13hrs
Pretty sure I died about 80 times. I dont know why I found myself having difficulties throughout the game as if some things were just not right. I would die but feel as if It wasn't my fault but the game's. I didn't try to complete it 100%, but even not doing it made me feel rewarded after each level. The masks and levels were stupid fun and well done. The narration was really funny and the story was fulfilling overall . Played it in 3D which is the best way to play this imo.

GAME 30: Need For Speed Rivals -22Hrs
Amazingly looking, crazy fun specially online and to be honest, the kind of handling I expected The Crew to have (based on Beta). I had a lot of fun messing up with people online. Chasing down the ones with high heat levels because they were obviously holding a bunch of points already. Yeah, an asshole I know.. But people were doing it to me too so what gives?. Im not a fan of Burnout so the crashing onto cars and things got tiring and stressful after a while. Now please EA, give us NFSU3.

GAME 31: Mario Kart 8 (Gold 50cc, 100cc, 150cc) -23Hrs
Ooh Nintendo Nintendo NINTENDOOO!!! I fucking LOVE this game. Absolutely beautiful, the soundtrack is AMAZING and even deserves an award, hard but fun and very very competitive. I never in my life felt so much anger like I felt in 150cc. So freaking hard!!! One of the best games I've played in years! All I gotta say is believe the hype.

GAME 32: Deadlight -5Hrs
Garbage. Thats it. I dont care what score it has or if people liked it or not, garbage. The mechanics are all over the place. It was a mess to get the "shadows" or "crazies" from my ass. It would be nice if one could tackle em to get em out of the way but nah, the game pushes you to fight them no matter what. Very frustrating. I gotta give to Tequila for the presentation, tho. The game really catches the darkness and "muted" atmosphere. The story is meh tbh.

GAME 33: Swords & Soldiers -5Hrs
Ok so I really didn't know what to expect from this game mainly because I only bought it because of the Hype. I looked at a couple of screenshots on the Wii U esphop and thats it so It was a completely blind purchase. With that said, I am not disappointed and am actually looking forward getting S&S2. It knew that the best thing to do was to not take the game so serious and thats why I think I found the story to be overall kinda funny and the campaign's length to be fine.

GAME 34: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze -12 Hrs
You know you're playing a Nintendo game when halfway thru the end the levels get hard as fuck! Very fun but very very challenging as well. I love the level design of every single level and the soundtrack is just amazing. I know the game is more than just the story, but I didn't bother with the secrets and extra levels. Dixie was my favorite and I chose her the most throughout the whole game.

GAME 35: Limbo -4Hrs
Some of these puzzles were kind of hard. I was staring at the screen for minutes figuring out what to do lol. The atmosphere was incredible, the sound was amazing and the whole overall journey is just so original and brilliant. I will keep an eye on Inside. Funny how Badland is a complete copy of this game.

GAME 36: Journey - 2hrs-ish
Soo freaking beautiful! I would play this game 5 times in a row! The music, the levels... jesus! It felt so calm and awesome. Its actually funny how the sand looked like waterish the whole time lol. I really really hope I get to see a Journey 2.

GAME 37: God Of War Ghost of Sparta - 7Hrs
I don't know where I fucked up the chronology in the series cus I have no idea whats going on here. It was nice that I met Deimos and , but I can't figure out after which title all this is going on. This was a port from the PSP so the glitches were all over the place. Sometimes it felt as if there was a delay in the input, the enemies would walk away from battle which was crazy funny and the blocking would just not work. None of that bugged me out, tho. The story is amazing and being this a PSP title, I was very impressed with the graphics.

GAME 38: God of War Ascension - 8Hrs
Im gonna dare to say that this is potentially the best God Of War Game. Ill explain myself, I say potentially because its really not and I know that but this GoW was extremely different. The story is kind of boring, yes, but the gameplay is amazingly awesome. The graphics are out of this world. I was so hooked up to how this game looks that I really think this deserves a next gen remake. Every boss fight was spectacular and together with the camera work and again, the graphics, made em truly incredibly fucking badass. I missed having different weapons and upgrading them, but the different elements on the blades were kind of cool. Ice being the most wacky one. Framerate was an issue at times.

GAME 39: Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare - 7Hrs
WOW WOW WOW! Im so glad that I went back to finish this. What a masterpiece! I don't know what to say. So funny and well done! Why can't they make zombie games so interesting and fun like this one? Every time I hear about an open world zombie game, I always think about RDR because of its funny story, cutscenes and all the different fun things you can do around the map. I thought it was king of short imo, but fulfilling.

GAME 40: Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition -2Hrs
Meh. I mean I kinda like the challenge but halfway through the game I stopped giving a damn. Halfway thru it I started to just play to beat the game and move on. The soundtrack was kinda cool and overall the game looks good. Very very short imo. You can finish it in one sitting as you can see.

GAME 41: Metal Gear Rising R. -6Hrs
Speed run on this one. My god that camera was terrible!! Blocking and Parrying was also kind of bad and unreliable imo. What I liked the most was the customization and blade mode. The last fight was entirely great even tho it was too hard and I died about 5 times. It didn't bother with the VR missions.

GAME 42: Pikmin 3 -13Hrs
I've never played a Pikmin title before so im gonna go ahead and say that I just turned into a fan. Its so challenging but simple. Gorgeous and rewarding. I loved the fact that towards the end of the main story, I could go back to any of the other areas and finish the day with a new fruit of simply more pikmins. The level and sound designs are outstanding and the way the challenges are setup are very well done imo. A great way of finishing my 2014 Wii U backlog. Loved it.

GAME 43: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet -4Hrs
Pretty fun. I liked the art style and adventure. It took me a bit to realize that I needed tools to get into new zones, so that was cool too. I think badland and another game that I now can't remember took a lot from this title.

GAME 44: Zelda The Minish Cap -22Hrs
My love for Zelda games is never too little. From all the things one gets to unlock throughout the game to the boss battles, The Minish Cap is seriously a 10/10 in my books. It looks great, the music is also great and the difficulty was just right. I think it was bit too short? I dont know.. I didn't really get all th collectibles, but the story could've been loger.

GAME 45: Borderlands -In Progress

GANE 46: Renegade Ops -In Progress

GAME 47: Mass Effect 3 -In Progress

GAME 48: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor -23hrs
In my opinion the only "Next Gen" game that truly lived up to its hype. I fucking absolutely loved it. I remember picking this up and running the game just to see how it was and I couldn't let it go. Its like if Assasins Creed, Far Cry and Batman had a threesome and a baby came out of it. The army thing could've used more work tbh. It was too monotone and it would've been cool if you could call your "army" whenever you wanted to. I was also expecting to be able to swap armor and swords for some reason. I guess that would've been cool as well. I am very pleased with the length, the story was a bit short but the side missions seemed to complete that whole and the last mission was fucking lame as hell.

GAME 49: Call of Juarez Gunslinger -In Progress

GAME 50: Bayonetta 2

GAME 51: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare -9 Hours
I say GOD DAAAMNN!! This is the best Call of Duty of all CODs. Lets start with the graphics...Beautiful!!! Love how everything looked maxed out on my PC. The cutscenes were amaaaaazing, the explosions were very cool and all the particles and cool little details that raised the graphic bar for call of duty games. The story was awesome as well. Spacey's performance was superb and I couldn't be more happy with how well his character was made. I loved how unique each level was. Every level had its own creative way of getting one attached to it. The story was great compared to other latest COD games and the multiplayer is very fun and fast!. I think the team making BO3 has a lot of work to do.

GAME 52: Grand Theft Auto V -In Progress

Finished both Brothers (#2) and Vanquish (#3) tonight, woooo! Had no idea I was so damn close to finishing Vanquish >_>. Going to try to keep this momentum up, I've been slacking bad the last few years on finishing games, and I know I'm going to go to shit for a while in March when RoS and Dark Souls 2 come out. At some point I'm going to run out of "fast" games to get through and get to the other 75%+ of my backlog that's JRPGs, so that'll be a good time. I think I'm relatively close to finish Dark Souls, and only a little ways into Link Between Worlds. Not sure what else I'm going to check out this weekend, maybe VVVVVV or something small like that. Or could keep on the Platinum train and fucking finally start up Revengeance.

Updated post here.

I was considering setting some sort of goal for myself this year and this is perfect. I'm pretty sure I'll have enough time to finish at least 52 games this year. My only concern is that my backlog is very RPG heavy.

Game #1: Xenoblade - Just shy of 40 hours. Completed on 1/12/2014
# Started playing this when it first came out and got burnt out on all of the sidequests pretty quickly. Decided to give it another try after all the posts saying that they should be mostly ignored. I'm already further than my first attempt and am enjoying it. Will return to it in a day or two.
Spent a week playing through it to the finish. Really liked the combat and exploration but the story devolved into JRPG nonsense towards the end. Still worth playing.

Game #2: Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 - Two hours, Completed Insane difficulty on 1/3/2014
Only took about two hours to finish the hardest difficulty and I've played through it a couple times before but I wanted to stream it since I recently streamed the other two Ouendan games.

Game #3: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - No idea how much time, Completed on 1/26/2014
I technically started this last year, but I was less than halfway through when the year started. I played this once before, but it's the only Phoenix Wright game I've played and wanted to play the new one so I have to catch up on the series. I stream most of the games I play now, but I still need a game portable game to play while I work out.
Finished it, the story was still fun to play through since it has been so long that I had forgotten all the twists. Looking forward to playing the next game.

Game #4: Drakengard - Ten Hours, Completed on 1/17/2014
I wanted something more actiony between Xenoblade and Four Heroes of Light and I'm going to need to finish the first two Drakengards before the third one makes its way over here. I expected this to be bad after all I've heard about the first one, but it's pretty tolerable. It has a lot of technical issues and it's janky as hell, but I can see the potential and I'm excited to try the sequel to see how it's refined. That, and I want to see the small story tie in it has with Nier.
The game ended abruptly and told me there were four more endings. I just called it done because I was starting to get frustrated with it.

Game #5: Broken Age Act 1 - 3.5 Hours, completed on 1/15/2014
Took a break to play this immediately. The game was a little easy and short, but it was well made and I'm excited for the second act.

Game #6: Beatmania IIDX - ∞ Hours, Never will be completed
I picked Beatmania back up again. I need a lot of practice to be as good as I used to be.

Game #7: Earthbound - 13.5 Hours, Completed on 1/19/2014
I decided to play through this in a single sitting to celebrate breaking 100 followers. I remembered it being much longer, but it's still my favorite game of all time.

Game #8: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light - 31 Hours, Completed on 1/26/2014
I wanted to finish this before Bravely Default came out and I was not disappointed. The game felt more like an SMT game than a Final Fantasy and was actually fairly difficult. I really enjoyed that it rewarded cleaver party building rather than grinding because all the enemies scale with your level. Super hyped for Bravely Default now.

Game #9: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked - 40ish hours, Completed on 2/1/2014
I've played through the original on the DS but wanted to see the extra content and finally play through Devil survivor 2 after I finish it. Game is still great but the voice acting they added for Overclocked is unbelievably bad. Part of me wants to turn it off, but I really want to see how bad it can get.
There was a lot more grinding required to beat this than there usually is in a Megaten game. I still love the battle system and grinding wasn't too much of a chore. I'm disappointed that the ending I went for said we were going to kill god but the final boss was only Metatron. Might go back and do NG+ at some point to try some of the different endings.

Game #10: Phoenix Wright Justice For All - Finished, don't remember when.
Pretty much the same as the first one. Psyche locks do make exploration more interesting though since you can't just spam every item at every character until you get the correct trigger.

Game #11: Metal Gear Rising - Finished, don't remember when.
I've really wanted to play this game again for awhile. The first time I played it I got bored halfway through very hard. I'm going to finish it on every difficulty this time and finally play through the DLC.
Finished it on very hard but didn't have time to play revengeance difficulty before Bravely Default was released.

Game #12: Bravely Default - Finished, 50ish hours, don't remember when.
The longer this game went on, the less I enjoyed it. It really dragged on towards the end when you're just going the same things over and over.

Game #13: Professor Layton and The Azran Legacy - Finished, 14 hours, don't remember when.
Probably my least favorite in the series. I didn't like how the story is really segmented by the areas you travel to and the big mystery doesn't seem very important.

Game #14: Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes - Finished 3 hours, don't remember when.
Game was fun, but really short. Glad I didn't actually pay for it. Hearing the different voice for Snake was weird. I didn't do any of the extra missions because I would rather just wait until the full game is released to dive that deep into it.

Game #15: The Last Story - Finished, don't remember when.
Game was very enjoyable. I really liked the combat and how hard you had to work to beat a lot of the bosses. The accents on the voice cast helped too.

Game #16: Yoshi's New Island - Finished, 7ish hours, don't remember when.
It was alright, I really disliked how most of the secrets in the levels wouldn't appear unless you stepped in certain locations to trigger them. Don't plan on 100%ing it because of how annoying it is. The graphics do look much better on a 3DS than they do in the videos I saw online before I played it.

Game #17: Contact - 9ish hours, completed on 4/21/2014
Game was alright, but nothing fantastic. There were a couple interesting themes in the story, but they were largely ignored until the ending. The game was pretty easy and disappointingly short.

Game #18: Final Fantasy X HD - 37 Hours, completed on 5/2/2014
Still really like the battle and leveling systems in this game. The story writing is pretty cringeworthy and Tidus is a huge doofus. The character designs don't hold up either and almost everybody looks ridiculous.

Game #19: Final Fantasy X-2 HD - 2 Hours, quit on 5/3/2014
I thought I knew what to expect from this, but I was not prepared for the opening cutscene. Since my favorite things about FFX were the battle system and the sphere grid, I didn't really feel motivated to play this as they took them both away and the battle system wasn't that interesting to me.

Game #20: Mario Kart 7 - 7 Hours, completed on 5/6/2014
Was getting hyped for Mario Kart 8 and decided to finally pick this up since the price just dropped. Had some fun with it but got really bored towards the end. Was ready to quit when I finished the last cup on 150cc and forgot about mirror mode. I stopped playing a couple cups into mirror mode since every character was already unlocked. I would be more motivated to go back and play if it was more transparent in the requirements to get three stars on every cup.

Game #21: Attack of the Friday Monsters - 4 Hours, completed on 5/9/2014
Game was pretty charming. Completed every episode but the one that required collecting every card. The card game was kind of interesting but it felt like they just tacked it on to make it more gamey and less of a visual novel.

Game #22: Picross E4 - 9 Hours, completed on 5/14/2014
Yay, more Picross. Finished every puzzle but the mega picross puzzles since mega picross is stupid. It's a shame that the bonus puzzles unlocked for owning the previous versions are mega picross puzzles.

Game #23: Rusty's Real Deal Baseball - .5 Hours, completed on 5/15/2014
Played as much of the game as I could without spending money. The story and premise are really cool, but I'm not spending money on a bunch of little minigames no matter how much I want to see where the story goes.

Game #24: Crimson Shroud - 7 Hours, completed on 5/19/2014
I really like the presentation of this game and how committed to its style it was in every design choice. It did get a little repetitive towards the end and it was pretty short, but it was about what I expected for the price. The ending was disappointing but I guess it changes significantly on NG+. I'm just not willing to play through the entire game again right now.

Game #25: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - 5 Hours, completed on 5/23/2014
I never got around to finishing all the temple levels the first time and I wanted to finish it before starting Tropical Freeze. I don't know why I stopped the first time. The final levels were some of the best platforming I'd played in a long time and were enjoyably challenging.

Game #26: Hotline Miami - 4 Hours, completed on 5/26/2014
I started playing this on a whim since it was sitting on mt Vita from PS+ and got immediately sucked in. I love how little downtime there was between deaths making it super easy to play for long periods while dying over and over. My one real complaint is how it seemed to get easier as it went on once you get the hang of its systems.

Game #27: Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze - 12 Hours, completed on 6/7/2014
I'm glad I finished the first one before playing this because Tropical Freeze blew it out of the water. My only real complaint is how few of the really challenging levels there were. I was expecting a world with more than three levels once I finished all the temple levels.

Game #28: Mario Kart 8 - 10 Hours, completed on 6/12/2014
This game was really pretty but still wasn't as good as Double Dash. I beat all the staff ghosts but got bored with the tracks halfway through 150cc GP. I may go back to it at some point, but right now I'm sick of all the item bullshit in the GPs and I don't really have any interest in playing it online.

Game #29: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey - 40 Hours, completed on 6/23/2014
This game has been in my backlog for a long time and I wish I had completed it sooner since it's hard to go back to it after being spoiled by SMT IV. It was pretty good, but I much prefer the press turn system over the demon co-op system. The demon co-op really incentives you to have demons that have the exact same sets of abilities since you can't skip over demons with no cost like you can with the press turn system.

Game #30: Retro Game Challenge/Game Center CX - 10 Hours, completed on 6/25/2014
I'm a big fan of the show and wanted to finally play this game since the fan translation of the second one was just released. The first few games were pretty simple and the way they spread the same stuff across multiple games felt phoned in. Guadia Quest and Haggleman 3 made up for that though and were impressively good little games. I'm really excited to start on the second one since they stuff that was in the previews on the show made it look much more fleshed out.

Game #31: Pikmin 3 - 12 Hours, completed on 6/30/2014
I never cared for the Pikmin games when I first tried them on the Gamecube but gave them another try last year with tie Wii versions and fell in love. The game was really good, but I wish it was longer. I played a couple of the missions but wasn't really interested. The exploration and expansion of the areas you could explore was what I like in Pikmin and you don't get to do that in the missions. I hope that we get another Pikmin in this console generation because this reminded me of the first Pikmin in how much content it had and I would love to see a Pikmin 2 to Pikmin 3's Pikmin 1.

Game #32: Retro Game Challenge 2/Game Center CX 2 - 11 Hours, completed on 7/2/2014
I liked how they branched into more consoles than just the 8-bit ones this time. The games themselves had much more meat to them as well. As a fan of the show, I particularly enjoyed Ace Detective Arino. There was a ton of in-jokes about the staff. I think the fan translation could have done a better job on it though. I didn't realize until looking it that the two main commands were "tsukkomi" and "boke,"

Game #33: Steel Battalion - 4 Hours, quit on 7/4/2014
I originally bought a copy of this when it was reprinted with Line of Contact and got frustrated with it and never finished it. I bought another copy a few months ago, and after playing it for a few hours I can say that I will never finish it. I appreciate the game, but I just don't enjoy the clunkiness.

Game #34: Final Fantasy Type-0 - 40 Hours, completed on 7/13/2014
I really enjoyed the combat in the beginning of the game but it was kind of shallow and started to get boring towards the end. I felt like I was missing out on a large portion of the game because of its focus on multiplayer. That, and I was extremely underleveled for most of the game so I couldn't do most of the sidequests and it felt like the character growth was extremely imbalanced and grinding was a total chore. Luckily, the dodging system was exploitable enough that I managed to finish the game in the high-30s with almost every boss for the last half of the game killing me in one hit.

Game#35: One Piece Unlimited World Red - 5 Hours, quit on 7/15/2014
I was really excited for this game because I've been waiting a long time for a good One Piece game. This was a phoned in piece of trash though. I played through six episodes and every one was almost exactly the same with reskinned enemies. The combat was alright, but even the weakest enemies took forever to kill and every encounter became a huge chore.

Game #36: Game & Wario - 4 Hours, finished on 7/18/2014
Got this as the platinum Club Nintendo reward since I wanted to try it but it never looked like it had enough content to be worth its price. Played it through to unlock every game then played a couple hours of the multiplayer. The multiplayer was fun but it got old quick and everything just felt like a bunch of tech demos. The few unlockables I got were cute, but I wasn't motivated to play the games over and over to unlock more of them.

Game #37: Persona 3 Portable - 75 Hours, finished on 7/31/2014
I got pretty far into the FES version but never finished and wanted to play through this again to get ready for Persona Q. I followed a guide to get max s. links since I had already played it before and had planned on beating the Margaret and Elizabeth extra bosses. After spending at least 10 hours grinding on the last day, I was able to beat all the optional bosses but those two and once I looked up how much more time it would take to be properly prepared for them, I decided it wasn't worth the extra time.

Game #38: Wario Land 4 - 5 Hours, finished on 8/6/2014
Game was fun. My only criticisms are that it was pretty short and there were a lot of stage specific gimmicks that weren't explained very well or explored in depth. It felt like they could have either had fewer gimmicks and given them more depth or just had more levels and explored all the gimmicks thoroughly. I did appreciate the weird little touches in the graphics and music and recognized a lot of things from the first Warioware.

Game #39: Persona 3 FES - 6 Hours, quit on 8/9/2014
Fuck whoever decided to make your partners only AI controllable. I don't understand why they didn't include The Answer in P3P. I wanted to see the extra story in The Answer but it's so hard to go back and play this after playing P3P and P4. I gave up after losing to a boss over ten times because of the shit AI when it would have been a breeze if I could control everybody.

Game #40: Mega Man GB - 4 Hours, finished
Was surprised at how good this was for an original Game Boy game. It was obviously pared down, but it still felt like a full Mega Man game. I did use save states on the Wily levels though because they were ridiculously long.

Game #41: Muramasa Rebirth - 10 Hours, finished
This game was very pretty, but got very repetitive in the non-boss sections. The game would have been better if it was half as long. Most of the time was spent walking from boss to boss and fighting the same enemies. I only played through one of the characters campaigns because I couldn't take playing the game again.

Game #42: Devil May Cry - 9 Hours, finished
I wanted to play through Bayonetta again to get hyped for 2 but decided to finally play through the DMC series since I wanted to wait for the WiiU remake. I have a long history with this game. The first time I bought this game was when it launched and I think I got stuck at the phantom fight and gave up. Over the years I've picked it up and tried five or six times and always got frustrated at some point and gave up. I almost did that again when I got the first Virgil fight, but I took a break and beat 3 and decided to come back and finish this one. I'm glad I did.

Game #43: Devil May Cry 3 - 12 Hours, finished
This game was by far my favorite of the series. If I had played this when it first came out I would have gone through and played it a bunch of times to unlock everything. I'll probably return to it when I have some more time.

Game #44: Devil May Cry 2 - 3 Hours, finished
I wanted to see how bad this game was. Luckily it was only a few hours long, so my curiosity wasn't punished too badly.

Game #45: Devil May Cry 4 - 11 Hours, finished
This game was also really good, but it got pretty boring playing through the exact same areas and bosses a second time as Dante. It also didn't help that I liked Nero's combat much more. The ability to grab long range with him made combat much more enjoyable since it was easier to combo your attacks that knocked back enemies.

Game #46: Wild Arms - 12 Hours, quit
I started out really enjoying this game because it was so simple and brought back a lot of nostalgia for 90s JRPGs and anime. After that wore off it got really boring and the loading times and slowness of the combat was unbearable.

Game #47: Bayonetta - 10 Hours, finished
Game is still great. I only played through it once because I wanted to get to the second one and I put over 40 hours into it the first time so I didn't feel the need to unlock everything again.

Game #48: Bayonetta 2 - 50 Hours, finished
A little less epic towards the end, but much more streamlined and enjoyable than the first. The decrease in non-combat, gimmick sections was a great improvement over the first one. Currently in the middle of getting platinum on every chapter on infinite climax difficulty. Will probably have spent more than 60 hours on it by the time I'm finished. I was disappointed that there's only one unlockable difficulty and it didn't seem as hard as the first.
I got burnt out soon after this while platinuming every chapter on infinite climax. I'm sure I will return to it in a year or two to get everything.

Game #49: Theatrhythm Curtain Call - 40ish hours, finished
I played this right when it came out but forgot to put it on the list. I unlocked everything and got a SSS on every song on the first difficulty but got bored with the grind while getting SSSs on every song on the next difficulty because the game was so easy.

Game #50: Pokemon Trading Card Game GB - 7 Hours, finished
Bought this game on the eshop because of nostalgia. The game is fun but it's really easy if you understand which cards are completely broken.

Game #51: Pokemon Trading Card Game GB2 - 8 Hours, finished
I found out that there was finally a fan translation after I finished the first one. It was interesting seeing new cards because I quit playing as a kid before most of them were released. The new cards are more fair than the cards from the first few sets so the game is still easy and you try and use the same deck as the first one. It's slightly more interesting because a bunch of the battles have restrictions about what cards you have to put in your deck, but it's still easy to build a broken deck with a few bad cards.

Game #52: Luigi's Mansion - 7 Hours, finished on 11/20/2014
I wasn't interested in this game when it first came out but I kept hearing good things about it and its sequel so I finally got around to giving it a try after installing Nintendon't on my WiiU. The game fun, but the controls could be really awkward at times and the fixed camera angle made it hard to perceive depth properly. These things made the last boss extremely frustrating and it was made even worse by the several minutes of walking and unskippable cutscenes with every death.

Game #53: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - 30 Hours, finished
This is only the third Fire Emblem game I've played and I really need to play more of them. I do miss the ability to turn off permadeath from Awakening because one character death just means that you have to restart the chapter. It did mean that my characters were pretty overleveled and made the endgame pretty easy.

Game #54: D4 - 7 Hours, finished
Bought an XBONE on black friday and this was the first thing I played. I wwas so disappointed when I finished episode 2 because the description said that there were three episodes but they were counting the prologue. I tried playing it with the Kinect for the first half hour but it was garbage and massively improved by just using the controller.

Game #55: Sunset Overdrive - 4 Hours, quit
I got this with my XBONE and was interested in playing it just because of its art style. The game looks really good, but I just got bored with the combat and traded it in to Gamestop before the value tanked.

Game #56: PT - 2 Hours, finished
I bought a PS4 on black friday too. Mainly for this and Silent Hills. This was really great except for the final puzzle. It's understandable that Kojima would make it such a pain in the ass though since he was trying to occupy the entire internet for as long as possible.

Game #57: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - 6 Hours, finished
I didn't play this myself as much as I helped my girlfriend get through it since she was too afraid. I still love this game and it's my second favorite in the series behind Silent Hill 2. The removal of combat is my favorite part since the combat in Silent Hill has always been garbage.

Game #58: Far Cry 4 - 14 Hours, finished
I only bought this game to trade back into Gamestop for $40 with a B2G1 coupon but decided to try it before I traded it in and got sucked in. This is the first Far Cry game I've played and I didn't expect the gameplay to be so methodical. It does have the problem with the difficulty not really scaling and the last half of the game being much easier than the first. that, and the story/ending was very unsatisfying.

Game #59: Captain Toad - finished on 12/23
Like most Nintendo games lately, it was well made and polished but not challenging. I got every diamond, star, and every stamp but the one where you have to get 5000 coins. I tried it once and got 3800 and didn't want to try again because it was such a grind.

Game #60: Smash Bros Wii U - finished
Unlocked every character. Shelved for parties now. About to hit the post character limit.

I'll give this a go. I did this with 52 books a couple of years ago and the remainder of the IMDb top 250 I hadn't seen after that, I'm always up for a fundamentally pointless media consumption goal thing. A lot of my backlog is lengthy stuff so I'm not going to feel guilty for playing short games like the first one here:

Game 1: Proteus (PS3) - Completed 1/1/14. About an hour.

It was alright I guess but I liked the idea and the sound of it more than the reality of playing it. The audio, which people had raved to me about, was so simplistically done I found it difficult to enjoy and not what I'd expected - I'd delusions of it being one giant Boards of Canada track that built as I walked around an island but instead it was just bloops and squinks that changed depending on whether I was near a tree with pink blossoms or a tower or whatever. Eh. Not worth the £10 I paid for it.

Game 2: Gyakuten Saiban 2 (NDS) - Completed 4/1/14. 25:12

I usually find howlongtobeat.com is very accurate for me but somehow I'm about eight hours over their estimate assuming this is the same game as AA: Justice for All?! I started this last summer having played the first back when it first came out on DS and enjoyed the first case enough but thought the second was awful and shelved it. I'm now 30 hours into Bravely Default and needing a rest from that so I picked this back up again for my commute toward the end of December and have really enjoyed finishing it off. That last case! I have the sequel too so I'll be tackling that in the near future I think.

Game 3: Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (GB) - Completed 5/1/14. 1:55

Funny how some people bitch and moan when a game is shorter than 10 hours long but back in '92 this was acceptable and it cost the same, more with inflation probably. I really enjoyed this, I was expecting level design akin to a ROM hack but it surpassed my expectations in that regard (space world!), the music was great and as someone who never owned a GameBoy and only got wee shots of one a few times back in the '90s it was very surprising to discover just how nice games on it could look. There's slowdown at times (and it helped me more than once), but the sprites are big and clear and it's smooth for the most part. Fun!

Game 4: Super Mario 3D World (Wii U) - Completed 8/1/14. 14:00

100%'ed right up until the last level where I still have a couple of stars to get but I've seen the credits. What an insanely polished, tight, fun experience. I've been thinking about this for a few days as I approached the end and as someone who grew up with these games (I was about 10 when SMB3 came out here) I'm constantly surprised by how they manage to make it as fun and varied as it is. This is the fifth time by my count that Nintendo have thoroughly decimated any cynicism I had towards the series and any doubts I had that they'd run out of steam, it's a staggering achievement and very probably my favourite of all the 3D games.

Game 5: Naya's Quest (Flash) - Completed 18/1/14. 1:31

I was iffy about counting this when I started with it but it's definitely a game and I did finish it so here we are. Took me longer than anticipated too but maybe I'm just a bit slow. I loved VVVVVV with all of my shitty heart and Terry Cavanagh apparently has so many great ideas for games he can just give them away for free like this. It's an initially awkward-feeling isometric environmental puzzle game where the perspective is constantly playing tricks on you, you have a button to flip between two views to help you work out where you can stand, and once you're a wee bit in and feeling cocky big Terry adds a number of twists on this to make it a bit more challenging. Some are a bit rubbish (the hexagon one, the one where the directions become straight compass points) but it never goes on long enough to drag the game down and the ones that do work, which is most of them, are fucking rad. I had a great time with this, and would happily chuck him a fiver for three or four hours worth of this on 3DS. It's like what I thought Echochrome was going to be before I bought it and found out it was boring and awful. Nice one Tel.

http://terrycavanaghgames.com/nayasquest/

Game 6: The Room (& Epilogue) (Android) - Completed 20/1/14. About 2:30

I've had smartphones since the piece-of-shit OG iPhone but there are only about five games in that time I've enjoyed and this is the first one I've ever finished. It's 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors without the talking and it's great (I adore 999 btw). The controls can be a bit fiddly now and again on a Nexus 7 (I would rather have had a button to zoom out rather than do a goatse motion) and it loses steam towards the end of the main game but those are harsh criticisms for a game that cost a couple of quid. Fantastic stuff and I eagerly await the Android release of the sequel which I hear is even better somehow.

Game 7: Professor Layton & the Azran Legacy (3DS) - Completed 23/1/14. 16:52

Utterly superb. My favourite of the series and a massive improvement over Miracle Mask which was slow to get going, then slow once it did get going and had kid kind of a rubbish plot all through it too. Despite reservations at the start over how many sliding block shenanigans it doles out initially (not my strong point) it zips along and delivers varied and strong puzzley goods time and again. As a series where the story has always felt to me like an afterthought to tie the puzzles together I did not see an ending as strong as that last two or three hours here coming at all - magical stuff L5, well played. You will be missed Professor.

Game 8: Bravely Default (3DS) - Completed 25/1/14. 73:02

I was feeling a bit guilty about having some short games up there but this balances things out. Not the true ending because 1) I really can't be fucked and 2) this actually feels like the direction I'd have gone if I didn't know the true ending was a thing.

This is a frustrating game for me, someone who has doesn't really play JRPGs but has latched on to the big ones like FF7-9, Persona 4, and enjoyed them to varying degrees. The job system is fantastic and allows so many permutations of characters and abilities, the autobattle and speedup thing makes grinding quick not that it's really required, it's staggeringly beautiful in places, the music is great. It's soured by a twist halfway through that I can't believe anyone thought was a good idea for a game this long, I did get over it and got back on with it but if you're kind of casually interested in this style of game and you have a backlog I could easily understand putting it down and never coming back. I forced myself through now because I have so many 3DS games to start that have had to wait because of this but I didn't want to have this nagging away at me every time I saw it on the shelf.

My meaningless JRPG-noob scale has this somewhere below Persona 4 but above any FInal Fantasy, which means precisely fuck all as I've only played the PS1 titles that weren't ports and I loved Mystic Quest on the SNES. It's good, but don't go nuts over it because it's deeply flawed. I got my money's worth and look forward to a sequel though.

Game 9: Touch! Kirby (DS) - Completed 26/1/14. 3:39

AKA Canvas Curse/Power Paintbrush. Adorable wee platformer, great touchscreen controls and use of inertia make it a joy to fling Kirby around the levels, none of which are hugely difficult but it does get tricky towards the end. Final boss was a nice throwback to the 16-bit era too. Good game that I have absolutely no desire to ever play again.

Game 10: To the Moon (Mac) - Completed 29/1/14. about 4 hours

A recent Humble purchase. Nice story told via the medium of irritatingly clunky indie game. Not bad but hugely overrated and the actual game bits - collect five of these, solve the origami puzzles - felt pointless to me. Glad I never paid £10 for it like I nearly did.

Game 11: Gyakuten Saiban 3 (NDS) - Completed 12/2/14. 27:51

AKA Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trial and Tribulations. Amazing to think I tried the first game back in 2007 and didn't like it, tried the second one last year again and gave up after the second case and only picked it up again over Christmas out of exasperation about hearing how good Dual Destinies was. I loved the second half of 2 and this was a big improvement on that - so well written, wonderful characters, great music. I was really sad to see it end today but at the same time very excited about the prospect of two more games in the main series, neither of which are GBA conversions so my expectations for animation and music have been raised appropriately. I'm not going to get them both done by the 28th March though so I hope there's nothing in Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright that spoils it.

Game 12: Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness (PS3) - Completed 20/2/14. 52:02

The fifth game in the series I've bought and the first one I've ever got into, I knew my perseverance would pay off eventually. Absolutely loved it - got to the final boss last night at a leisurely pace and without too much trouble and was amazed at how poerful he was and thought I'd never do it, couple of hours grind later I went back and handed him his arse. Apparently there's a ton of post-game stuff I can do now to give my PS3 something to do until Dark Souls 2 too which is cool. Bought this expecting to not finish it so I'm very pleased I have, superb game.

Game 13: Portal 2 (PS3) - Completed 23/2/14. about 9 hours

It's alright I guess. Had nowhere near the effect the first one did on me although that was a lofty expectation. The puzzles are well done for the most part considering how restrictive their formula is. Stephen Merchant was much less irritating than I'd anticipated. I could live without a third.

Game 14: Dangan Ronpa - Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita) - Completed 24/2/14. 20:21

Really enjoyed this. Slow start and not as mindblowing as VLR (will anything ever be?) but another very strong title from Spike Chunsoft. The ending was a lot smarter than any of my guesses at it with a couple of hours to go, I got a couple of bits of it but they tied it all together better than my dumb brain could. I thought the trial sequences were especially well done once I'd got the hang of them and enjoyed how in the investigative bits the game didn't let me proceed until I'd found everything I needed - it seems like it's going to be restrictive but I felt it let the story take centre stage and never let the player get lost looking for the next item to select to advance the game. Hype for the sequel.

Game 15: Tomb Raider 2013 (PS3) - Completed 9/3/14.

Wanted some mindless fun until Dark Souls II and the this showed up on PS+, what a wee treat it was. It's basically all the bits I like about Uncharted but it trades level variety and quality of script for good combat and less of it which is great because the godawful combat in the Naughty Dogs games is why I don't like them that much. <10 hours + not too hard = my kind of thing. Did not expect to get on with this for some reason but really enjoyed it.

Game 16: Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice (NDS) - Completed 16/3/14. 23:01

For your enjoyment.

I've seen a few people on the forum recently mention they've been playing this and thought it was pretty good and I played this and thought it was pretty good too. The graphic and audio upgrades were nice, the characters were just as good as usual and the way it tied all the cases together at the end was damn sweet. I have Dual Destinies waiting to go but I think I might hold off until the 28th and play Professor Layton X Phoenix Wright first.

Game 17: Dark Souls 2 (PS3) - Completed 30/3/14. 71:35

A worthy sequel to my favourite game. Played it blind, took my time, explored everywhere, and in my first wee glance at the wiki I can see I missed at least three bosses Planning to respec as a STR build, mop up the trophies I can then start a NG as a magic user as I didn't do any of that on this playthrough. A magnificent achievement from FROM.

Game 18: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS3) - Completed 5/4/14. 1:50

I'm not going to complain about the length because I'm an adult and I've paid the same to see properly shite films before but either these games have changed or my taste has as I didn't find much to like here. Technically impressive, not especially interesting, no desire whatsoever to play it again. Tanker chapter it ain't.

Game 19: Fez (PS3) - Completed 9/4/14. 5:05

Just the 32-cube ending, I will definitely be back for more later on though. Really enjoyed it this time around after owning it on 360 and putting a lot of time into it but not really getting much from it. I have no idea what the significance of the bell or the clock is, or how to do the Tetris puzzle and this excites me. A unique game and I'm going to savour NG+ knowing we'll never get a follow-up.

Game 20: Demon's Souls (PS3) - Completed 21/4/14. 15:58

I have two platinums for this already so it was inevitable I'd buy the US version at some point and go for the hat trick. First run done and it's every bit as good as I remembered and False King Allant is still a beast however many times I fight him. Fantastic.

Game 21: Sayonara UmiharaKawase (3DS) - Completed 5/5/14. 1:55

Didn't think Europe would get this but we did in the end and it's probably my favourite version. Rock hard, lots of levels and some great touches like online leaderboards and the stop-time mechanic make this probably my favourite Kawase title. One of those games I'm actually glad is a download as it's great for firing up on the train here and there.

Game 22: Mario Golf World Tour (3DS) - Completed 5/5/14. 6:30

That's six and a half hours in the twenty four that I've owned it. I like this. The online side bodes well for Mario Kart (although I hope the DLC trend doesn't), nice and easy to play with randoms and friends and communities and nobody can really be a dick to you. I like Everybody's Golf but this has much mroe charm and I've barely scratched the surface.

I only have two issues and they are thus: WHERE the FUCK is my crazy golf from the N64 game? That was my favourite mode! Also the layout of where game modes are and how you progress are poorly signposted, a chore to navigate and just generally awful. Nintendo are great at games but a lot of their UI work is really unintuitive these days in my opinion. Everything is nested several menus down and you have to walk around this big complex to find it and just ugh.

Game 23: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U) 10/5/14. 9:36

I thought this was a disappointing follow-up to be honest, it looks gorgeous but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the previous game on 3DS. Too many water levels and rocket barrel bits, nowhere near enough minecarts.

Game 24: Duck Tales: Remastered (Wii U) 14/5/14. 2:47

Never played this before so no nostalgia but man, what an enjoyable wee game. Pretty and fun and that theme tune YES.

Game 25: Monument Valley (Android) 15/5/14. about 90 minutes

Really enjoyed this. It spends most of its duration being quite simple, albeit very charming, but towards the end when it knows you've got the hang of it they show glimpses of just how tough they could make it if they wanted. Or maybe I'm just a big dope but I spent a good twenty minutes on that final chapter. A sweet, pretty distraction and well worth £2.50.

Game 26: New Super Luigi U (Wii U) 18/5/14. 4:36

This is actually a great wee game but has a huge flaw that tainted my enjoyment of it quite a bit - like all the New titles, you can't save when you feel like it. Unlike the rest of them, I found it very difficult to build up a stockpile of lives and saw a continue screen a few times so I couldn't go for the star coins in every level with the constant threat of losing everything and starting back at the last save with five lives. Whyyyyyyyyy. Fantastic level design throughout and plenty of content but points off for the needless limited saves. Or just remove lives entirely!

Game 27: Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS) 25/5/14. 23:06

Was really excited for but left disappointed by this. Two of my favourite DS serieses together at last! How could I lose!? Well the setting is really dull for one, and the characters are no better. This is what gets me through Ace Attorney games, the wit and energy, none of which is here and the puzzles which would punctuate the average Layton game are present, and on the whole of the best quality but spread sooo thinly. Add in the most excruciatingly drawn-out ending to a game I can recall finishing in the last several years and you have this. Not bad but easily the weakest entry from either series in my view.

Game 28: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (DS) 26/5/14. 1:24

This is the best DS game, cannot believe it's been nine years since I bought this and beat it for the first time. I still remember the songs, it's still great and I have Osu 2 which I've never played sitting around here somewhere so I'll get into that later.

Game 29: Guacamelee! (PS3) 27/5/14. 5:30

I bought this at launch and played right up to the last level at which point I found the combat became too hard and tedious to be worth persevering with to reach more platforming sections which I had greatly enjoyed. Picked it back up yesterday and somehow stumbled through to the final boss who's taken me about an hour in two sittings to beat and it's a real stretch to remember how much fun I had in the first half of the game (and I really loved it!) compared to what it became at the end. And then it gave me a bad ending. In conclusion - fuck this game.

Game 30: Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) 30/5/14. 4:43

It's Mario Kart in HD! And I got a free Monster Hunter! The best.

Game 31: Tearaway (Vita) 6/6/14. about 5 hours

It was cute and nicely gimmicky and pretty fun but I don't get the overwhelming love it inspires in others. Maybe I am dead inside. It's also not one to play on the train. I think it's the only 3D platformer not made by Nintendo that I've ever finished though so that's something.

Game 32: Limbo (Vita) 13/6/14. about 4 hours

Played this upon 360 release and really enjoyed it but not so much this time. For every clever puzzle and lovely atmospheric touch there's a trial-and-error death that frequently feels unfair and offputting, I ragequit a few times.

Game 33: Sound Shapes (Vita) 17/6/14. about 2 hours

This was a nice surprise. I'd heard good things but found the first few levels a bit weak, once the complexity increases later on though it really comes into its own, the Beck levels in particular are superb. Great fun for under a fiver.

Game 34: Okami HD (PS3) 17/6/14. about 34:05

So this is what Kamiya did before Twitter. Imported it on release but took a break after the first third and only picked it up again a couple of weeks ago. Ludicrously pretty, great music and packed with ideas.

Game 35: Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4) 28/6/14

Well this was a big, balls-out surprise. I don't much care for shooters and only picked this as it was the bundled game I was offered with my PS4 that had the highest resale value but I stuck it on for a wee go and fell for it completely. Just dumb fun from beginning to end with some really spectacular moments, I will hang on to this as I fancy going for the platinum at a later date.

Game 36: Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4) 2/7/14

I thought this was OK, didn't love it as much as a lot of others. I thought it overstayed its welcome by at least an hour and some of the action bits were poor and at odds with the rest of it. The ending was nicely done though and they handled the potentially weird mix of cartoony presentation and serious subject matter very well.

Game 37: Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition (PS4/Vita) 4/7/14

This is superb. You have to go in knowing that it's quite trial-and-error and very unforgiving but I think they've added more checkpoints over the original release so it's nowhere near as frustrating as it could have been. Back when I was a kid I used to see this mentioned a lot in magazines for the 16-bit computers (I had a Spectrum ) and thought it looked incredible, it still does to me but it was also interesting how many puzzle solutions and bits and pieces I'd picked up and retained from so long ago for a game I had never played. Great stuff, and having played it through now I can appreciate the influence it's had all the more.

Game 38: Resogun (PS4) 5/7/14

I have nothing to add other than this is really fucking good and makes me want a bigger telly just to envelop myself in the particle effects.

Game 39: Battlefield 4 (PS4) 6/7/14

I get now why people say this shouldn't exist and they should focus on the multiplayer. Not awful, just really bland and repetitive. Thoroughly competent and unexciting. That said I don't really care for the MP at the moment and so the six hours the campaign took might well represent the bulk of the time I spend with the game. Oh well.

Game 40: Transistor (PS4) 11/7/14

Shite.

Game 41: Child of Light (PS4) 14/7/14

I adored this even though I can see the blatant flaws in it - it's too long, it would be nice if the loot actually meant anything, it's easy - but as Pulp Fiction taught us personality goes a long way and this won me over completely with the sheer force of its charm. Beautiful, great music, and if repetitive and easy then at least the JRPGesque combat was different to what I'd expected in a game that looked like this, with some nice ideas of its own. If only they'd made it a little more varied this would be one of my games of the year, as it stands it's still pretty fucking sweet.

Game 42: Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi Extra (PS3) 15/7/14

This was a manyCC. I can get to the third stage on one but I wanted to see how much crazier it gets - the answer is significantly. Woof. Practice required.

Game 43: Strider (PS4) 18/7/14

This was surprisingly fun, thank you PS+. Starts out really simplistic but once you pick up some more powers the combat becomes surprisingly enjoyable. Quite easy too, which I like, except for one bit right at the end which I found a little frustrating. Also it surely wouldn't have killed them to include the sword noise from the original, it was the best bit ffs.

Game 1: Peggle 2 (XB1) - Completed 3/1/14; Aprox. 4 hours

It's an entertaining game, not much different than the first. The lack of leaderboards really wears heavy though. In a game like this, replay value takes a HUGE hit when there is no leaderboard. Overall I liked the

Game 2: Starbound (PC) - Completed 4/1/14; 171 hours
Very addictive game, I can't stop running through it no matter how many times I get wiped. I completed the current quest line a few days ago, and just got impervium armor again this morning. I'm not sure if an incomplete game can be beaten.. If it can, I think this qualifies.

Game 3: Assasins Creed IV Black Flag (XB1) - Aprox. 12 hours

This is the first AC that I've played. I must say it's great. I'm a sucker for collecting loot, and this game makes that fun. I expect to play this game until every chest, key, animus thing, message in a bottle, mayan relic, manuscript, and sticky note has been plundered.

Game 4: Dead Rising 3 (XB1) - Aprox. 5 hours

Pretty entertaining game, yet I lost interest after a while. I might skim through it sometime later though.

First game complete!

It was just a mobile game but still counts i guess as it is available on other platforms.

"10000000" was a delightful little time waster. each run lasted anywhere between 1 and 5 minutes and was perfect whenever i had a few minutes of downtime with nothing to do. Now i need to find another mobile game to fill the void and continue my quest for 26 games this year...

Updated post here...

There's no way in hell I'll come remotely close to this, but it will give me a chance to chronicle my efforts to clear as much backlog as possible, so here goes:

Game 1: God of War III ps3- COMPLETED on 1/12/2014

The same game I've played a few time before, just prettier. For some reason I'm a bit worn out on the Kratos character, so I'm taking a break from the series for awhile( have yet to buy/play Ascension and I have Origins collection in my backlog)

Game 2: NAME - DURATION PLAYED
# INSERT INFO AND COMMENTS HERE

Game 3: NAME - DURATION PLAYED
# INSERT INFO AND COMMENTS HERE
....

Game 4 down! Less impressive than it sounds, since this is the last of the games I was already playing going into the new year.

Game 4: Dark Souls ~55 hours to beat
# LTTP on this one, but pretty much everyone was right. Game is amazing. My only major complaints are the annoyance of them preventing you from being in a Party Chat on 360 to play in online mode, and some of the parts with infuriating falls that will instantly kill you ( ). All in all a fantastic game though, probably not my GOTG but it's close.

Updated post here.

Got done with Killzone Shadow fall. I'm now working on finishing AC 1 and will play 2 and Brotherhood after that. I will probably go back to the Killzone trilogy after that and finish the first Infamous and it's sequel + the DLC.

I'm just going to focus on that for the time being and go from there. :^p

Game 1: Killzone Shadow Fall (PS4) - Completed 2/1/14; ~10 hours
# Shadow Fall has attracted divisive comments on it's worth, but I understand both side of it. The campaign has numerous good ideas to vary the gameplay experience, but they aren't properly polished and exploited. The free fall section have been patched so I didn't experience the frustration that some did, but the hit detection is sloppy (in chapter 8). The later chapters are also short so it's obvious that probably didn't have enough time to balance out everything in the way they wanted. Multiplayer is quite solid however, as I expected.

Game 2: Assassin's creed (360) - I'm about 2 hours in and will try to knock as much achievements out of it. Will take the slow and steady approach and should be done with it by next saturday. It's repetitive and really basic compared to the later entries, but I like the setting.

edit: post #2

I'll give this a try, maybe it's fun to keep track of this stuff.

Game 1: Gone Home - 2½ hours ish, Jan. 1st
I quite liked it and I didn't mind that it was so light on mechanics. I don't know what kind of mechanics you'd use to help tell a story like that and honestly that bums me out a bit.

Game 2: Antichamber - about 5 hours, Jan. 5th
This one I didn't like all that much. Partially because I sort of forgot about the green gun room, so I spent a good while beating my head against puzzles I couldn't solve and partially because I didn't like the mechanics all that much even when I grasped them. I think if a game is going to place such a big emphasis on figuring out things on your own, it should be clearer about what you can and can't solve with your current toolset.

Game 3: Proteus - 1 hour, Jan. 5th
Liked it more than I thought I would, especially the last season. Despite going for such a simplistic presentation they captured the feel of winter super well. The ending was a bit random though, I would've preferred it to be something you trigger directly.

Game 4: Gunpoint - 3 hours, Jan. 6th
I'm not as high on this as other people seem to be. For having such a high number of entities in each level I don't think the game produced that interesting situations. I was expecting to have to set up more elaborate chain reactions, but most levels can be solved in a few completely independent steps. The plot also lost me fairly quickly, I didn't keep up with all the names. Best part is probably the music. Overall though I think The Swapper is a much better game even if it only got a fraction of the recognition Gunpoint did.

Game 5: Mark of the Ninja - 8 hours, Jan 9th
More good than it is fun, I thought. The thing that stands out the most to me is how well they communicate information to the player. It's hyper important in a game like this and you can tell a lot of effort went into it, so props for that. For whatever reason though it never quite hooked me, and I thought most levels went on for about twice as long as they needed to. Ending was ace though.

Game 6: Guacamelee - 5½ hours, Jan 11th
I started off not liking it very much but I got into it after a while. The combat is fun and once you get most of your abilities the platforming becomes okay. I don't like how it feels like it's trying to be Super Metroid though because it completely fails at it. There are also some weird difficulty spikes in the combat and I think they went a little overboard with having so many different shields in addition to the light/dark thing. Even though I could pick it apart it's still probably the most fun game I've played so far this year.

Game 7: Tomb Raider I - 16 hours, April 9th
I missed the first one back in the day, for whatever reason. Maybe they never put out a Mac version? Anyway, this game has aged well in some respects and horrible in others. I don't mind the controls or even the camera for the most part, the platforming and puzzle solving is still fun when the level design holds up. I did find it a little inconsistent though, the Greece levels that follow St. Francis Folly made me put the game down, I loved the Egypt levels but the Atlantis stuff is just meh. What surprised me is how much combat there was, especially towards the end. Worst part of the game for sure. Overall I liked it, but I would probably recommend people play Anniversary instead.

Game 8: Tomb Raider II - 19 hours (12½ in-game clock), April 21st
I'm a little conflicted about this one. I enjoyed it more than TR I, but it was clearly the wrong direction for the series to go in. There's way more combat (fortunately it's slightly better), the vehicle sections are janky and the urban environments throw away the atmosphere that made the first game great. On the other hand I think the best levels in TR II (The Deck, Temple of Xian, the Monestary / Catacombs) wreck anything in TR I. I have more nostalgia for this game though so I'm not sure how much that factors into things. Like I said, despite most of Venice being not so good, I did like it more than TR I which I actually put down for quite a while. The upgraded moveset helps a lot, but why are ladders so slow? Anyway, it held up better than I expected, it's a shame no one makes 3D adventures like this anymore.

Game 9: Dark Souls II - 58 hours, May 9th
It's not bad, just not particularly memorable. It's missing the things that made Dark Souls a classic. Everything from the NPC dialogue to the encounter design is a step down. Also did an SL1 run which took another 60 hours, but counting a game twice seems like cheating.

Game 10: Return to Castle Wolfenstein - 5 hours, May 29th
Sadly not as good as I remembered. It's fun in spots, but the supernatural stuff is still tedious, there are stealth sections with insta fails and there's a bit too much of getting shot by snipers you couldn't have known were there. I forgot how much damage you take in this game, quite often you have to take it real slow.

Game 11: Batman: Arkham Origins - 8 hours, Jun 21st
I loved Asylum, was disappointed by City but still liked it. This game however, I could not find it in myself to enjoy. It doesn't even attempt to do anything new, I'm tired of the decryptor thing and I'm tired of the stealth parts. Not only does it fail to innovate, it's straight up worse at everything. The writing is awful, the game is buggy, Batman constantly thinks to himself what you should do, the bossfights are probably worse than even the previous games and are constantly interrupted by pre-rendered cutscenes. After getting into the Souls games this glorified QTE combat is dull too, it was good in 2009 - that was a while ago.

Game 12: The Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from Butcher Bay - 7½ hours, Jun 25th
Even though I'd heard a lot of great things about this game, it exceeded my expectations. Without question one of the best shooters I've played. There were a handful of things I didn't like, a few too many mechs, some occasional checkpointing woes etc. but nothing that ruined the game. Great shooting, atmosphere, acting, level design, pacing and on and on. Fantastic game.

Game 13: Crysis 2 - 7 hours, Jun 30th
I'm conflicted about this game. It's tight, it plays better than the first game for sure (runs better too), but then there's the level design which just consists of a set of wide corridors. It's nothing like the first Crysis, or even Far Cry. They still haven't figured out how to make fighting aliens fun, though they've gotten slightly better at it. The worst part of the game has to be the writing and the constant interruptions in the form of 1st person cutscenes, or forced walk sequences. The writing in this game is so fucking bad, while taking itself so seriously, that it's absurd they spend so much time on the story. Some of the cutscenes go on forever. One in particular has you getting shot at by snipers, you can zoom in on them with your own weapons but you're not allowed to fire, instead you have to exit through a back door and trigger another cutscene. Any game that pulls that crap (or has a default FoV of 55) can go fuck itself. Some people working on this game clearly knew what they were doing, but who ever was in charge for the overall direction of it shit the bed.

Game 14: Noitu Love 2 - 2 hours, Jul 2nd
Simple game that doesn't overstay its welcome. The pixel art is fantastic, there are some quite neat boss designs but the basic combat gets a bit repetitive since it doesn't demand much of you. Maybe it's more about getting a high score than just getting through the game.

Game 15: Dishonored - 15½ hours, Jul 6th
I love the games that Dishonored draws inspiration from, the late 90's immersive sims, so I'm not sure why I ignored it when it first came out. Everyone was saying the right things but I didn't get excited about it. I'm glad I finally played it though, because it's fantastic. More streamlined than I would've liked, but it still retains enough of those Looking Glass design ideals, in contrast to BioShock which mostly threw them away. It falls short of being a classic, but it's still one of the best games I've played this year. Maybe even the best, only not quite my favourite.

Game 16: Far Cry 2 - approx 20 hours, Jul 9th
A game that can be fun, but tries its hardest to make you not enjoy it. The amount of guard posts and randomly spawning armed vehicles are just too much, and the world itself feels like it's trying to block your path at every possible turn. I think it's a very flawed game.

Game 17: F.E.A.R. - 8 hours, Jul 11th
This game reminds me, unsurprisingly, of Shogo:MAD. The pace and lethality of the combat is just the same. They're both games where I quicksave every 10m, because you can round a corner and lose half your health before you know what's going on. I don't mind the 'reload until you get it just right' gameplay, but maybe the way to play the game is to put it on easy and not worry about taking damage. Anyway, the bullet time is a lot of fun. The downside is that the guns feel tuned for slow mo and not real time, so if you run out of your reflex meter it's better to hide than to charge in. I think I was in bullet time for 99% of my shots fired. The uninspired environment design also deserves a mention, the majority of levels in the game are interchangeable since they use the same props and textures. The combat is fun enough to carry the game, but with some memorable levels this game could've been a classic instead being fondly remembered but sort of forgotten at the same time.

Game 18: F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point - 4 hours, Jul 16th
Not nearly as tight as the base game. To its credit it does have more level variety, it's not just office spaces, but it has a B-team feel to it. They shower you with ammo and health at random, making it seem like they didn't play test enough and were afraid there was too little. There are more open spaces to fight in but the combat doesn't work as well in those. What I liked the least though was the constant removal of control over the flashlight and slow-mo. You want a scripted event? Fine, but don't remove my agency. There are even some enemies that are invincible in their scripted animations. Unless you can't get enough of the combat I say pass.

Game 19: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena - 4! hours, Aug 13th
Starts off as a Riddick but without that magic touch. Then later on it devolves into a substandard shooter. Skip it.

Game 20: Bulletstorm - 5-6 hours, Aug 28th
Mechanically it's quite fun, though I don't think the weapon selection was all that great. I mostly stuck with the basic rifle + revolver, some more effective AoE weapons would've been nice. Having so much scripted stuff, like forced walk sequences and press button to jump down and all this shit, doesn't make sense for the kind of gameplay they have. In what's essentially an arcade FPS I don't need or want 1st person cutscenes. The scripting broke for me several times too forcing me to replay some parts. It's an enjoyable game but I think they could've made a better one with the same gameplay.

Game 21: Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - 6½ hours, Aug 31st
It's been a while since I played it, but I remember liking The First Encounter a lot more than I did this game. The level design is quite frankly shit for most of the game and I don't care for how they handle some of the weapon progression. I only finished it for this list, otherwise I would've quit after the second level.

Game 22: Dishonored: Knife of Dunwall - 3 hours, Sept 5th
I thought the level design was on par with the base game, which is to say that it's quite excellent. The time-freeze blink and chokedust makes the non-lethal playstyle more enjoyable, and I appreciate that the character spoke this time around. If I hadn't gotten it with the GOTY version I might have been disappointed with the length (especially since there's one reused level), but it's nice to play something short once in a while. A problem is shares with the base game though is the shitty journal that isn't much help in a lot of cases. The very final objective is to "regroup", which involves meeting an invisible character at a specific spot. Good luck finding it without the objective markers (which I prefer to leave off).

Game 23: Just Cause - 5 hours, Sept 8th
Bad PC port of a mediocre open world game. I suppose the size of the world was the draw of the game when it first released, but it's not worth putting up with the poor mechanics and uninspired (sometimes awful) mission design. There are also some massive difficulty spikes that come out of nowhere. I own the sequel but I'm not terribly excited to try it now.

Game 24: Borderlands - 25 hours, Sept 11th
I picked this up from an old save. It's an all right game, but it gets quite repetitive and it's probably too long. A problem I have with it is that it never manages to be fun and challenging at the same time, if there's a tough enemy you're best off cheesing it. Not a fan of the health system either. Just mindlessly killing stuff is more fun than in most shooters I've played on this list though, so there's that.

Game 25: Unreal - 8.5 hours, Sept 16th
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It's closer to Quake II than Half-Life, but the combat still holds up fairly well. It's actually mostly 1on1 encounters which I wasn't expecting and it feels quite different, especially with how agile the Skaarj are. The weapons are the mostly same as in UT99 of course (but with much uglier models). I never really liked the RL, the rockets are too slow, and the Ripper (or Razorjack) and GES Biorifle feel like weapons you go to when all your other ammo is gone. Luckily there's generally enough Flak ammo to go around. Still one of the best shooter weapons.

Game 26: Unreal: Return to Na Pali - 2.5 hours, Sept 17th
I don't think this expansion pack was well received back in 1999, but I enjoyed it more than the base game. It adds a few new weapons, which are among the more fun ones, and it looks a bit better (I think it's on the UT engine). The level design though is what's most improved. The convoluted mazes are gone for the most part, the levels flow much better and just in general I think the encounter design is better. I know people like to post this image, but some of those old maps were just too messy. You throw a switch then spend 5 minutes trying to figure out what it did. Na Pali isn't devoid of that, but it's a lot better.

Game 27: Quake II - 5 hours, Sept 19th
Compared to Unreal this game feels more tight. The movement, the feel of the guns, the enemy hit reactions make it more fun moment to moment. On the other hand it's also much more plain, there's not really an attempt at interesting AI behaviour, environmental storytelling (there's some, but barely) or even just a single memorable level. Personally I wasn't too fond of all the backtracking, though being told the objective probably makes it less convoluted than Unreal at its worst. Anyway, it's fun, just utterly unambitious in terms of moving the genre forward at the time (in terms of SP). Railgun is ace though.

Game 28: Quake II: The Reckoning - 3.5 hours, Sept 20th
Not a great expansion pack. It adds a few enemies and weapons but it all feels redundant. The level design for most of the game is also not great, both in the details (like elevators you need to fall down on because they can't be recalled) and the general level flow. The convoluted key card hunts and button pressing sequences feel even more like Doom than the original Q2 did. This game also reuses the bosses from Q2, they even have the same final one. Come on. On the plus side, the low-grav ship level stands out more than any level in Q2 did.

Game 29: Quake II: Ground Zero - 3 hours, Sept 21st
Of the two Q2 expansions pack I found this to be the better one, but I can't say that it's great. It introduces wall mounted security turrets and the designers must've been in love with them because in the second part of the game they're in almost every room, and take way more ammo to kill than they should. For some reason they also added the nailgun from Quake 1, sound effect and all, but it's a bit shit really.

Game 30: Sin - 6 hours, Sept 23rd
I feel a bit bad for Sin, it wanted to be what Half-Life was, got rushed out in a broken state to release ahead of HL and has been forgotten for the most part. It's actually a good shooter though, with a lot of ambition behind it. For a Quake II engine game the environments are very detailed and interactive, in some ways it feels like a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D. There are interactive computers that are rendered properly in the world even when you're not 'focused' on them, there's location based damage and armor degradation (for both you and enemies) and most of the environments look surprisingly believable. It feels more modern for a 1998 game than it has any right to and the gunplay still holds up, it's a lot of fun. There's even a partially good underwater part, how many games manage that? There are some issues though, like infinitely spawning enemies in some areas, some utterly bullshit enemy placement (the snipers in particular) that force you to die just to find out where they are (there's no damage indicator) and it also has the Far Cry problem of fighting mutants not being very fun, though it's not nearly as bad as Far Cry. Anyway, definitely an underrated game.

Game 31: Wages of Sin - 3 hours, Sept 24th
A solid expansion pack, I think I prefer it over the original. Although most (all) of the humour is quite juvenile, it managed to put a smile on my face in a few spots. I like the new weapons it adds too, even though the SMG is still the go to weapon for most of the game.

Game 32: Quake - 4 hours, Sept 25th
Like a lot of people I mostly played the shareware version of Quake back in the day, so it was fun to play the other three episodes. Quake is a weird game, it mixes space marines with Cthulhu inspired creatures and throws medieval fantasy in the mix too. I suppose it works better than you would expect, but I think it also contributes to Quake being sort of a forgotten game. Sure, people know the name, but the game itself is not nearly as iconic as Wolfenstein, Doom or even Duke 3D. It's still a blast to play though and it's got a very unique feel since the mechanics are tuned more for the multiplayer. Getting the quad and just gibbing stuff with the super shotgun never gets old. The exploding things in the last episode are rather annoying, but aside from them it's great all the way through.

Game 33: Quake: Scourge of Armagon - 2.5 hours, Sept 26th
For the most part the level design in this mission pack simply isn't up to the quality of the original game. They tend to be a lot longer and be more complicated to navigate. There were some bigger levels in Quake too, but my favourites are the compact ones. Some levels also go for a less abstract setting, in the first level you blow up some kid of pump for example. It's like something out of Quake II and doesn't feel like it belongs. This mission pack is also a lot stingier about ammo than the original Quake, while often spamming the toughest enemies. At one point you fight three Shamblers, and there were probably twice as many of them as compared to Quake, despite this being a shorter game. Some of the encounter design comes off as amateurish compared to Quake's. Two of the new weapons are all right, except that they use the LG ammo which is very scarce. The new enemies don't add much, however I swear the Gremlins make the same sound as Mimics in Dark Souls. It's crazy and it really freaked me out.

Game 34: Quake: Dissolution of Eternity - 3 hours, Sept 27th
This one was more to my taste than the first mission pack. The new ammo types it adds are fun to use, although somewhat overpowered. It also has more (and better) new enemies than the first mission pack. There were quite a few levels that I really enjoyed and the encounter design was much tighter than in SoA, even though it did get a little predictable at times. For the most part it's also a lot brighter than Quake, doesn't have quite the same atmosphere.

Game 35: Half-Life - 5 hours, Sept 28th
After playing through so many 90's shooters it seemed like a good idea to replay HL. It is rather astonishing how much better it does almost everything than the games that came before it. It released one year after Quake II but it's like it's from another universe of game design. Even things like the pacing, that FPSes before it barely considered, it nails better than most modern shooters, it's nuts. I love the combat too, the arsenal you get is so diverse yet useful and it's just a ton of fun to experiment with. Bring back Satchel Charges, Tripmines and Snarks for HL3.

Game 36: Dishonored: Brigmore Witches - 3.5 hours, Oct 5th
Probably my favourite piece of Dishonored. It's the best mechanically, a big improvement over the base game for non-lethal play. Because you have more tools and are more empowered in general there's less tedious waiting on guard patterns just so you can choke them out when no one sees. The missions themselves were better than in the previous DLC and the area surrounding the manor is easily the best looking environment they've done. I haven't cared much about the narrative in these games, but I think Brigmore Witches was the best in that aspect too. Although the very last scene could've been executed better.

Game 37: F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate - 5 hours, Oct 8th
People like to reminisce about the good old days of PC expansion packs, but playing this right after Brigmore Witches I can't say that things were always better then. While I enjoyed this more than Extraction Point it still doesn't do much to improve on the base game. One problem I have with this game (and the other two) is how much I end up quick saving. The lethality of the combat combined with the slow-mo letting you line up headshots means that the difference between a good fight and one where you did a mistake or two can be 100 points of damage, easily. So you quick save all the time to avoid losing progress when you make a mistake. It makes you feel relieved after a fight instead of excited, it's a fight you don't quick load again. The combat is fun, I just think it's tuned in a strange way (I guess Shogo was that way too). In this expansion the base enemies tend to be harder and they also added some new, very agile enemies that for some reason also are bullet sponges, so that makes the problem even worse.

Game 38: Doom I with Brutal Doom - 3 hours, Oct 9th
I was a little put off by this mod at first. The fact that it replaces so many iconic sounds is hard to stomach and having to deal with a reload mechanic for most weapons feels wrong, it's out of place. Even worse though are the NPC marines that walk around and let out some pretty bad dialogue. The gore effects and new sprites are very well made though, once you get over the changes it's a lot of fun to play. It's just a lot different from Doom, so people shouldn't go around thinking it obsoletes the original game. Also, I had some weird resolution issues with GZDoom, I had to select the wrong aspect ratio for it to fill the screen in fullscreen, quite strange.

My backlog is hideous...I'll give this 52 game challenge a shot!

Game 1: Blood of the Werewolf (pc)- Completed Jan 3rd - 4 hours
Decent game, ugly graphics and getting knocked around when getting hit was annoying. Not too long a game.

Game 2: Castle of Illusion (pc) - Completed Jan 3rd - 2 hours
Just a charming, sweet remake of the Genesis classic. Same amount of levels so its a game you can finish in one sitting though there are some achievements if you want to go back to collect stuff.

Game 3: Shadow Warrior (pc) - Completed Feb 7th - 12 hours
Good, fast paced game with fun hack n' slash action. It sure is long though! Recommended.

Game 4: Rayman Legends (pc) - Completed Feb 8th - 10 hours
Just a gorgeous game. A real pleasure to play! Not sure if I'll get all 700 lums (I have around 500 of them) but I'll go back to it in the future.

Game 5: Remember Me (pc) - Completed Feb 28th - 9 hours
Not a bad game. The combat is alright, the music is nice and I like the whole Neo-Paris look.

Game 6: Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - Completed Feb 28th
A damn fine sequel to my fav Zelda game. I always preferred the SNES Zelda in style and gameplay and this hit the spot nicely.

Game 7: Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (PS4)
A massive improvement over AC3 which I didn't care for at all. Sure it has the same ol' combat, controls..etc but traveling the seas was great and I just loved the bright Caribbean setting. I had a very enjoyable time with this.

Game 8: Infamous: Second Son (PS4)
A fine sequel with superb graphics. Some say its short but I think the length is just fine. I liked the characters and powers though I wish it had the old school shards like the first two. Not many in this game and I always liked traversing the previous games for the 100 shards (or whatever the amount was).

Subbed to this, should motivate me to complete a load more games this year!

Game 1: The Stanley Parable (PC) - 4 hours
#Picked this up in the Steam sale (late to the party i know) and completed most of the endings that I could find myself. Did a few from the wiki for completeness sake, but thoroughly enjoyed this one for the narrator alone. Best comedy narrative in a game since Portal / Portal 2.

Well I'm coming along okay, with two games done the first week of the year. Both pretty short, but I've decided to put an MMO onto my list, which could prove to be disastrous. But after counting how many games I bought and didn't finish last year, I"m going to be doing a lot of backlog purging on Steam it looks like.

Yeah, I'll attempt this.

1. Ys: Memories of Celceta - 1/4 - 20 Hours
Great game, combat was as good as ever. The graphics were absolute butt, and the frame rate was horrid, but the gameplay really shines.

2. F.E.A.R. (PC) - 1/5 - 4-5 Hours
Still one of, if not my favorite shooters ever. The combat is just fantastic.

3. Saya no Uta - 1/6 - 2.5 Hours
Well, this was fucked up.

4. Memoria - 1/15 - 6-8 Hours
Decent point and click adventure game. Some really obtuse puzzles, and a game ending bug that's way too easy to run into... but not bad. The pacing really could have used a shot in the arm.

5. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - 1/16 - 5 Hours
Still a great game, though I think it pales in comparison to SOTN more now than I did back in 2005. In any case, a very good Metroidvania.

6. Ninja Gaiden Black - 1/21 - 8 Hours
Haven't played through Black in more than 8 years. Still one of the best games of all time, and still way better than Sigma. It's a masterclass in game design.

7. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X - 1/22
THPS2 will probably always be amazing. Insanely fun, and addictive enough to have me playing 6-8 hours a day for a few days. I still love the soundtrack, too. THPS1 and THPS2X courses are kinda weak, but the THPS2 courses are still great.

8. Outrun 2 - 1/24
Still one of the best racers out there. So fast, so fun, and the music is great. The challenge mode is leaps and bounds better than the one in 2006.

9. Gunvalkyrie - 1/29 - 4-5 Hours
Haven't played the game in 12 years, but the controls are just like riding a bike. I was zipping through the game's alien planet, blasting up aliens like a pro immediately upon jumping back in. I really dig this game.

10. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - 2/3 - 24 Hours
Finally played through this after having it on my shelf, sealed, for more than 8 years. I guess people weren't lying -- this game was great, and very unconventional.

11. Bravely Default - 2/17 - 50 Hours
A really good RPG with some phenomenal gameplay, hampered somewhat by a limited budget. I enjoyed it a lot, but felt it was overhyped. Bravely Second should be incredible, though.

12. Escape Goat - 2/22 - 2 Hours
This was a really cool little platformer I only played because I didn't have my beefy gaming rig with me. I'm glad I got around to it. Just the right amount of challenge, and a bevy of bonus content.

13. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 3/1 - 8 Hours
One of the best platformers I've ever played. Top 3, for sure. It's an early GOTY contender for me. Currently running through the levels again in an effort to 100% it.

14. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Xbox) - 3/4
Still the best THPS game, easily. And a hell of a lot of fun. It's hilarious how, even though I haven't played the game in more than a decade, I can still pick it up and combo like a champ.

15. Steamworld Dig (PC) - 3/6 - 4 Hours
Wasn't too sure how I felt about the game at first, but I stuck with it. I looked at my watch, and it was 3 hours later. I guess it clicked. It's a really solid game that doesn't feel like another pale imitation of old-school games.

16. Dangan Ronpa - 3/14 - ~15 Hours
Probably the weirdest game I've ever played, and also completely fantastic. Great story, and a really trippy audiovisual presentation made for something pretty damn special.

17. Virtue's Last Reward - 3/22 - 26.5 Hours
I'm not sure I've ever seen such a crazy narrative payoff in a game. Wow. A few of the puzzles were kinda obtuse, but apart from that, a really enjoyable game. Though not as good as DanganRonpa.

18. Shadow Warrior (2013) - 3/27 - ~8-9 Hours
This one took me by surprise. It's the best shooter I've played since Bulletstorm. Lightning-fast combat with super-satisfying gunplay and the best melee weapon ever in an FPS.

19. DJ Max Technika Tune - 3/30
Is this really a game you can finish? It takes like 8 minutes to get to the credits. Well, I played it pretty thoroughly, and it's my game I play on the side. The game kicks ass.

20. Divine Divinity - 4/19
Replayed this for the first time in a decade. Still my favorite WRPG ever. The perfect amount of exploration, addictive combat, and an amazing soundtrack. Time has done nothing to diminish it.

21. New Super Luigi U - 4/25 - 6.5 Hours
This kinda came out of left field. NSMBU was the first great game in the NSMB series, but this absolutely kicks the shit out of it. The 6.5 hour figure was to finish the game and get most of the secret stages and star coins. I'll probably finish off the rest of the extra stuff soon.

22. Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X - 4/28 - 2.5 Hours
Replayed this for the first time since it came out. Was kind of a crazy change playing it on the PSP-3000 where it no longer looked like shit, was blurry as hell, controlled poorly due to a bad d-pad, etc. No, actually it was great. And it's still an interesting remix of MMX.

23. Fear Effect - 5/3 - 6 Hours
I started this game 13 years ago, and never finished. Well, after rebuying the game, I finally fixed that. Still a great game, and a really interesting take on the old-school RE formula.

24. UmJammer Lammy (JP) - 5/4 - 1.5 Hours
Ran though this again for the first time in about a decade. Still amazingly fun. I played the Japanese version, which is uncensored (the US version edits the part where Lammy plays in Hell.) Probably my favorite music game.

25. Soul of the Samurai - 5/11 - 3.5 Hours
Played a bit of this game back when it came out and enjoyed it. Still enjoy it today. It's basically Resident Evil meets Bushido Blade, and it has a really unique (methodical) pace for this sort of game.

26. Deathsmiles (JP) - 5/28
1CCed the game. It's one of Cave's easiest shooters, but it's also one of their best. I want to stick with the game for a while to really try and master everything, but I did knock this one out.

27. Gitaroo Man - 5/30 - 1.5 Hours
Replayed the game again... I take back what I said about Lammy. As great as that game is, this is the best music game ever.

28. Mario Kart 8 - 6/4
Finished all the courses, and played quite a bit of the game beyond that, too. It's one to go back to whenever I'm bored.

29. Crazy Taxi (Dreamcast) - Sometime in June
Played through this game for the millionth time, and got the top spot on the game's scoreboard. This is one of those games that will never stop being fun. And it's probably the best use of licensed properties I've ever seen.

30. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 8/10
After more than two months of really not playing any games, I went back to a classic. And it's still great.

31. Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project - 8/17 - 7-8 Hours
Played through this back in 2003 and enjoyed it quite a bit. Returned to it this weekend, and enjoyed it just as much. It's a fun action platformer with emphasis on exploration. Duke's quips are hilariously outdated, referring to such current cultural touchstones as Al Gore's "lockbox" and the XFL.

32. Tales of Xillia 2 - 9/1 - 32 Hours
Loved it. Easily my favorite storyline and cast in a Tales game. I was a bit disappointed by how much content the game recycles from the first Xillia, but it still ended up being a fantastic game. Unexpectedly, one of the best 2014 games I've played.

33. Dangan Ronpa 2 - 9/13
The first game was awesome, but this was probably even better. The first game had more of an impact, just because the craziness hits you out of left field when you start playing that game... but even so, the sequel completely delivered.

34. Pushmo - 9/20 - 14 Hours
I don't play a whole lot of puzzle games, despite that I actually really like the genre, but I finally got around to this one. And it was excellent. Really good difficulty progression. The game seriously needed more than the like... 2 songs it had, though. But if that's my biggest complaint, it must've been pretty good, right?

35. Ducktales: Remastered (Wii U) - 10/12 - 3.5 Hours
I never played the original, so I had some doubts going into a Ducktales game. Wow. I really, really enjoyed it. It's basically like a really weird version of Mega Man. The cut scenes got to be a bit much, but whatever. I had a lot of fun with this.

36. Shovel Knight (Wii U) - 10/15 - 4 Hours
Loved it. This is one of the very few indie games out there that doesn't feel like it's imitating a classics, it feels like it is a classic. The game controls perfectly and every level feels expertly designed. Just fantastic.

37. Mark of the Ninja: Special Edition (PC) - 10/19 - 4 Hours
Been wanting to play this one for a while, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a really well done stealth game that feels pretty unique thanks to it being a 2D take on the genre. The controls had some issues -- mostly the main character sticking to fucking everything, but that aside, it was a really well-done little game.

38. Rouge Legacy (PC) - 10/30 - 10 Hours
This is the current game we had in rotation on our gaming PC at work, and it inspired me to finally play the game at home. I really liked Rogue Legacy. It controls insanely well, and the progression is very satisfying.

Game 2 Completed:

Click to expand...

For anyone who loves Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World, I highly recommend you give this game a try. It's short, my time with it on the 3DS says 3:44, but for $3.99 it's well worth it.

The game is mostly pretty easy but holy cow that last level is insanely hard! I lost 45 guys on that level, it was insane! I played the game without save states, btw, I don't really count it as beating the game if you use save states.

Finished another one.

Game 2: Jumping Flash (PS1) - 6 hours



One of the most underappreciated gems on the PS1. Controls incredibly well for a 1995 platformer on the cutting edge of 3D gaming. It has a very charming artstyle, a killer soundtrack, and has the most perfect innovation for first person platforming ever: pointing the camera down when you double jump so you can see where you're falling. Can't believe that was never followed up on.

Weiss said:

Finished another one.

Game 2: Jumping Flash (PS1) - 6 hours

One of the most underappreciated gems on the PS1. Controls incredibly well for a 1995 platformer on the cutting edge of 3D gaming. It has a very charming artstyle, a killer soundtrack, and has the most perfect innovation for first person platforming ever: pointing the camera down when you double jump so you can see where you're falling. Can't believe that was never followed up on.

Click to expand...

There were two sequels! I don't think we ever got the third game, though, only JP1 and 2. Which is fine, since apparently that's the worst one anyways.

Also, thanks for reminding me that I a) own that on PSN, and b) never finished it! I'll throw that onto my backlog.

Game 1: Uncharted: Golden Abyss - (4 hours in)
Decided to start the year off with a game on my Vita after beating Tearaway before the new year. I'm beating this one first since my PS+ ran out but the game is still loaded so if I quit I will lose it. Clutch time baby.

Game 2: Pikmin 3 - (2 hours in)
Haven't gotten the time to sit down and keep playing yet, but I'm hoping to dive in this week while I've got time off.

Game 3: Super Mario 3D World - (On World 6 - 100% so far)
Trying to 100% the game with my two roommates. Such an awesome experience. Hoping to finish this up in the next two weeks.

I'm not doing so well...

Finished

Game 1: Ratchet & Clank (PS2) - DURATION PLAYED ~36 HOURS
I actually played through this 3 times from star to finished in order to 100% the game. All bolts, all skill points, all gold weapons. And I didn't use any exploits/glitches to earn enough bolts to buy everything. 100% legit playthrough.

In Progress:

Game 1: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (NDS) - DURATION PLAYED 42:44 HOURS
68/93 Missions beat. I can feel the game moving rapidly toward the wrap-up.

Game 2: La Pucelle Tactics (PS2) - DURATION PLAYED 21:05 HOURS
Chapter 5: The Journey Begins. I'm really enjoying this. Compared to Disgaea (released after this in Japan but before in NA) you can see how Disgaea added some layers to the game play. In many ways, I think this is a better game as it's a bit more straightforward than Disgaea.

Game 3: Dead Space 2 - DURATION PLAYED ~ Chapter 3
It's odd that this game reminds me more of BioShock than Dead Space

Second game of the year beaten: VVVVVV

Game #1: Liberation Maiden (3DS) - Jan 4th - 4+ hours
One of Level 5's series of Guild games (which includes Attack of the Friday Monsters). Very short 5 level arcade style 3D mech shooter.
Filled out the playtime by completing the in-game gallery, with one of the conditions being to play for over 4 hours (even though the last one I unlocked was to play Hard mode more than 10 times ).

Game #2: Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) - Jan 16th - 7+ hours
Finished the original 8 worlds. Gonna pick off all the star coins eventually, but for now, I consider this done.

Game #3: Tomb Raider (PC) - Jan 24th - ~22 hours
100%ed the single player, not gonna bother with multi any time soon.

Game #4: Ikaruga (PC) - 1st March - ~1 hour
Gotta be honest with myself, I'll never 1 credit this, so I'll take what I can get. Brute forced my way through this one. Still have my Gamecube copy, but felt the need to pick this one up again.

Game #5: Attack of the Friday Monsters: A Tokyo Tale (3DS) - 7th March - 3 hours
Believe the sleeper hit hype that this is getting around GAF, this one will hit you right in the sentimental feels. And that soundtrack...

Game #6: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PC) - 8th March - 22 hours
Double dipped on the Ultimate Edition after playing and loving the PS3 version at release, so bummed at the apparent mess LoS2 ended up being. Will pick it up eventually, but I'll find Mirror of Fate first.

Game # 7: The Starship Damrey (3DS) - 8th March - ~2.5 hours
What a mysterious jogo. Tense atmosphere, good use of sound, and when the story comes together at the end, ohoho...

Game #8: Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae (PC) - 15th March - 7 hours
Cheap and cheerful action game. Blasted through Easy, Normal and Hard difficulties, messed around for a while after, that play time flew by.
Don't try and start on Hard difficulty first like I did, complete at least Normal and earn some upgrades. Will probably go back and finish out the achievements eventually, seemed pretty easy.

Game 1: Gunpoint 4 Hours so far. Completed story. Achievements 29/42.
# Interesting game with achievements that poke fun at game journalism and itself.

Game 2: Mark of the Ninja 23 Hours so far. Completed Story + DLC. Achievements 38/38.
# Presents an interesting end game choice where neither answer is right or wrong. Black and white colour palette in the last level contrasts with the lack of black and white decision making. Lack of information in the game is explored as a selling point and is a welcome change from games with too much information.

Game 3: Little Inferno 4 Hours so far. Completed Story. Combos 99/99.
#Appeals to the arsonist in you.

Game 4: Left 4 Dead 2 17 Hours so far. Completed Story. Achievements 17/70.
#Most of the time is dedicated to playing tank playground survival lol.

Game 5: Magicka 9 Hours so far. Completed Story. Achievements 31/88.

Game 6: Hotline Miami 4 Hours so far. In Progress. Achievements 10/35.
#Encountering severe bugs and frequent crashes.

Game 7: Revenge of the Titans 2 Hours so far. In Progress. Achievements 16/77.

Game 8: Risk of Rain 1 Hour so far. In Progress. Achievements 0/15.
#I'm never going to get to the end am I?

Game 9: Teleglitch 4 Hours so far. In Progress. Achievements 9/35.
#Screw you door traps!!!

Game 10: Trine 2 2 Hours so far. In Progress. Achievements 9/97.
#Only playing multiplayer with a friend.

Game 11: Just Cause 2 4 Hours so far. In Progress. Achievements 10/50.
#Destroy all the things!!

I have Bravely Default (30 hours in) and Disgaea Vita coming up so I wanted to clear up another quick one from my backlog to give me a bit of a buffer.

Original post.

Game 3: Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (GB) - Completed 5/1/14. 1:55

Funny how some people bitch and moan when a game is shorter than 10 hours long but back in '92 this was acceptable and it cost the same, more with inflation probably. I really enjoyed this, I was expecting level design akin to a ROM hack but it surpassed my expectations in that regard (space world!), the music was great and as someone who never owned a GameBoy and only got wee shots of one a few times back in the '90s it was very surprising to discover just how nice games on it could look. There's slowdown at times (and it helped me more than once), but the sprites are big and clear and it's smooth for the most part. Fun!

Another amazing thing is when you play a GB game on the 3DS for an hour or so then hit the Home button and see colour again, I recommend everyone try this.

Have been doing a similar system to this for the past few years as a private group outside of NeoGaf. Initially using email, then Google spreadsheet, then threw together a small site (GameBeat, hopefully fine to link for reference - nothing to self promote as it's entirely private) so everyone would review and score each game they complete.

For past years;
2012 - 52
2013 - 56

For 2014 so far...

Game 1: Zelda: A Link Between Worlds [15hr]
Absolutely fantastic nostalgia trip to my childhood. Going into this game I knew very little, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it follows very closely the SNES classic. The map, the game flow, the characters... all brought back fond memories. Such a brilliant sequel to what I still consider the best Zelda title. The core puzzle mechanic is brilliantly used, the dungeon design is mostly flawless, the story well thought out and changes to item acquiring works well. In my eyes it is one of the best Zelda games, and is beautifully placed on a handheld.

Game 2: The Walking Dead: Season Two - Episode One [2hr]
Once again Telltale have managed to have me in a similar state of emotional exhaustion come the close of the first episode of the second season. I couldn't reccomend the episode enough and have high hopes that it's going to hit the same lofty highs. Though I am a huge fan of the episodic format and love a good cliffhanger suspense.

Game 3: The Stanley Parable [4hr]
I'm torn in my thoughts for The Stanley Parable. Since I have already had much of the games uniqueness spoiled by playing the prior free modification, a lot of what makes the games design special is already spoiled. The narrative is fantastic and it's genuinely funny and clever in how it pokes fun of game design in general, I feel there are missed opportunities to flesh out the experience to something more tangible.

Yasawas said:

I have Bravely Default (30 hours in) and Disgaea Vita coming up so I wanted to clear up another quick one from my backlog to give me a bit of a buffer.

Original post.

Game 3: Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (GB) - Completed 5/1/14. 1:55

Funny how some people bitch and moan when a game is shorter than 10 hours long but back in '92 this was acceptable and it cost the same, more with inflation probably. I really enjoyed this, I was expecting level design akin to a ROM hack but it surpassed my expectations in that regard (space world!), the music was great and as someone who never owned a GameBoy and only got wee shots of one a few times back in the '90s it was very surprising to discover just how nice games on it could look. There's slowdown at times (and it helped me more than once), but the sprites are big and clear and it's smooth for the most part. Fun!

Another amazing thing is when you play a GB game on the 3DS for an hour or so then hit the Home button and see colour again, I recommend everyone try this.

Click to expand...

That's funny, I just beat it yesterday for this list. What did you think of Wario's castle? I thought that was super hard. Did you use save states?

And yeah, I couldn't believe how short it was! At $30 I would have felt ripped off. At $3.99 though, it's fine.

Probably a bad idea but what the hell. It'll help me keep track.

Game 1: Fire Emblem: Awakening - 20 hours
Completed 5th January
# I bought this game on release but got frustrated playing it on hard and having my characters die, so I stated again on normal with prema-death turned off. Just finished it there today.

Game 2: Bioshock Infinite - 10 Hours
Completed 9th January
# Wow, what a game. Loved the themes explored and the visuals. Story was mind bending which I like. Gameplay was a bit too much like the old Bioshocks, wish they did something new with the powers.

Game 3: Super Mario 3D World - 9 Hours
Completed 18th January
# I haven't 100%'d it but I'll leave that for another time. Absolutely fantastic game. Great level design, music, graphics, just everything about it. I played the whole game with a huge smile on my face. It's really saddening that more people won't get to play this due to low Wii U sales.

Game 4: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - 14 Hours
Completed 20th January
#Brilliant game! Loved the puzzles and how smooth the whole thing ran (60 FPS I assume). Graphics weren't brilliant but there were some nice touches here and there. A worthy sequel to A link to the Past.

Game 5: The Stanley Parable - 2 Hours
Completed 25th January
#Another great experience. Very funny and unique. I got most of the endings and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing.

January
Game 1: Final Fantasy IX - [completed in ~40 hours]
Started in 2013, but finished in January of 2014. A refreshing change from the more recent Final Fantasies, but the long load times for each battle and the frame rate drops were annoying. Still, one of the better Final Fantasy games, and it still holds up really well to this day.

Game 2: NBA 2k14 - [~50 hours played]
Mostly playing MyCareer mode. Sunk a lot of hours into this one, despite all the well-documented flaws.

Game 3: Metal Gear Rising - [completed in ~10 hours]
Fun game, although I really sucked at the parrying system. Beat the Jetstream Sam DLC as well.

Game 4: Brothers - A Tale of Two Brothers - [completed in ~3.5 hours]
Ended up liking this game a lot more than I though I would. The way it uses the gameplay and controls to involve the player in its narrative was fantastic. The game is also one of the prettiest indie games that I've seen.

February
Game 5: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - [completed in ~14 hours]
Haven't been too into Zelda lately, but this game was a lot of fun. My main complaint was that looting was unsatisfying since all the weapons were bought from Rovio's store. It was annoying solving a puzzle to get to a treasure chest only to be rewarded with 5 rupees.

Game 6: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - [completed in ~40 hours]
The battle system and customization was fun, but that story... WTF Square.

Megatron said:

That's funny, I just beat it yesterday for this list. What did you think of Wario's castle? I thought that was super hard. Did you use save states?

Click to expand...

That was indeed weird! I was thinking of doing it anyway since I'd heard it was really short and when I loaded up GAF over breakfast I was confronted with your post. I'd bought it a while ago on 3DS but only dabbled with it and got one coin before putting it aside.

Wario's castle is a huge step up in difficulty (even more difficult than the second space level before I discovered you can float ) and I will confess to using save states there. I think I died about 10ish times but needless to say it would've been more if I hadn't been using saves.

Well three down and I've updated my original post: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=95620042&postcount=255

I have a couple of ideas on what I may tackle next, but I may skip those and try to make some progress on a longer game like Skyrim.

Game 3: Proteus - 1 hour, Jan. 5th
I liked it more than I thought I would, especially the last season. For having such a simplistic presentation they captured the feel of it super well. The ending was a bit random though, I would've preferred it to be something you trigger directly.

Game 3: Dragon's Crown - 13 Hours.



Finished the Dwarf campaign so I'll put this one down for a while before rolling a new character. The artwork was stunningly beautiful and the gameplay was top notch. It's great to have a classic hack and slash after the genre had lain dead for so long.

Game 1: Halo Spartan Assault- ~6-8 hours
This game does not live up to the Halo name. It is a mediocre twin stick shooter with a Halo skin slapped on it. Clearly a moblie game ported to consoles, its not worth it at all.
6/10

Game 2: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - ~6-8 hours
Great game with an interesting story. But kinda of lacks a single narrative with it branching off and rewinding so many times. Great ending though. Seems like a chaptered story rather than a single game. Great gun play and time freeze mechanics.
8/10

Game 3: Syndicate- 8 hours
This game has an interesting story but overall it feel just like a stereotypical FPS. It has an interesting story and mechanics that saves it from complete mediocrity. The Suicide, Backfire and Possession powers are the only thing that set this game apart. I dint play co-op however. Cant believe this was made by the same studio that made Brothers.
7.5/10

Game 4: May Payne 3 - 15 hrs
Max Payne has great gun mechanics and a great narrative. I loved the cut scenes where the key words were highlighted. The story sometimes fell flat but it was good overall, sometimes the cut-scenes dragged out too much. Also the last level was pretty frustrating.
8.5/10

Game 5: Spec Ops: The Line - 8 hours
Interesting story and some amazing art. The sand physics were pretty neat. Though the guns were very clunky, they felt very unpolished and that made my accuraccy crap. This game was also very short, at least I got a lot of achievements on one playthrough (600 gs).
7.5/10

Game 6: Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warefare - 10+ hours
Super fun tf2esque 3rd person shooter. Simple mechanics and super balanced. Have kind of set this aside because of other games but plan on going back because it is a blast to play, sort of a causal game.
9/10

Game 7: Titanfall - 20+ hours
As of 5/6/14 Im a gen 2 pilot and enjoying this game tremendously. Great mechanics and more of a fun stigma then call of duty. Love the drop ships to end the match instead of a sudden ending.
9.5/10


Game 8: Deadlight - 5 hours
This was an awesome game for GWG. It was a different take on platformers with a lot of interesting puzzles and mechanics. Was a quick and satisfying story line but little replayability. It is also hard to sometimes distinguish which objects are climbable or not.
8.5/10

Game 9: Trials Fusion- 10 hours
More trials fun. Each game improves the formula without changing much. Hope they add online multiplayer soon but for now this is still a great use of $20. Same trials fun with more features and new tracks.
9/10

Game 10: Mirrors Edge - 5 years(10ish hours)
Rented this game in 2009 and played half of it. Finally picked it up when it was on sale to finish it. Its funny I have 5 years in-between achievements, probably my largest gap. This game still holds up to the graphical quality and gameplay mechanics of today. Titanfalls wall running seems very similar. Still a great game that was way ahead of its time. I love the minimalistic design, using red items in the world as landmarks is genius.
9/10



Backlog:
360
Dead Island
Dead Island:Riptide
Darkness II
Dishonored
Hitman: Absolution
Far Cry Blooddragon
Flashback
Iron Birgade
Lara Croft: GoL
Mars: War Logs
Shoot Many Robots
Sleeping Dogs
Sonic Adventure
WRC Powerslide

X1:
COD Ghosts Campain
Forza 5
Dead Rising 3

PS3
Ratchet and Clank HD

That looks terrible when I type it out.

Game 1: Spec Ops: The Line - 7hrs
# Wanted to play this one for awhile after all I heard about the story. Gameplay was basic cover shoot..but the story lived up to the hype.

Game 2: The Stanley Parable - 1hr
# I need to put more time into this one, as it was easily one of the most interesting games I have played in a long time. I did technically beat the game, but there's some more life left in this.

Game 3: Max Payne 3 - 12hrs
# Very cool story. Been a fan of the character since the first game. Gameplay is mediocre.

Game 4: Bioshock Infinite - 10hrs 44min
# Pretty cool game. Don't want to say much so I don't spoil anything for those who were late to the party like myself.

Game 5: Gone Home - 1hr
# Neat little indie title. Super basic exploration game where your choices develop the story. Worth a play through for two bucks.

Game 6: Brothers: A tale of two sons - 3.5hr
# Wow. I cant believe a game with zero dialogue was that emotional. It's short, but I definitely recommend if you haven't played it.

Game 7: Tomb Raider - 9hrs
# I expected a decent game, I got an awesome game. So much better than I expected.

Reserving a spot
Will Bold games that are finished.

Game 1. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - 19 hours
Currently playing i think I'm about halfway.

Game 2: Persona 4 Golden - 20 hours
Currently working my way through Kanji's dungeon.

Game 1: Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag - Completed, but I don't know how to find out duration.
# Such an awesome game, I plan on 100%ing this now that I have finished the story.

Guess I'll give it a shot. Gotta clear that backlog.

Game 1: Zero Escape: 999 - ~30 hours (Finished on 1/1/14)
Got all the endings and routes. Amazing game with a truly crazy story. Can't wait to play Virtue's Last Reward.

Game 2: Senran Kagura Burst - 21 hours (Finished on 1/23/14)
Went in expecting life and hometown, and I got a pretty fun beat 'em up in addition. I thought it was fun. Really simple, if not somewhat repetitive. It was also surprisingly heartwarming. I'll keep an eye out for this franchise.

Game 3: Metal Gear Solid - 13 hours (Finished on 1/30/14)
Bought the Legacy Collection last year. First time going through MGS. It was extremely rough. I died 87 times.

Game 4: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - 14 hours (Finished 2/7/14)
I decided to hop right into this after finishing MGS1. It went much smoother than the first game did. The gameplay felt much tighter than MGS. I didn't mind playing as Raiden either. But man, this game had quite the final stretch. Definitely will replay it sometime.

Game 5: Final Fantasy XIII-2- 27 hours (Finished 2/9/14)
A large improvement in almost every way over XIII. Story was hard to follow due to all the time travel shenanigans. I'm already too far into series now. Guess I'll get Lightning Returns at some point.

Game 6: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - 15 hours (Finished 2/16/14)
I thought this was going to be kind drag MGS2 because I wanted to see where the story with Patriots was going instead going through a prequel, but man was I wrong. It managed to detach itself from the baggage of the other games and created a perfectly good story in its own right. The gameplay was great, although I was thrown off at first due to the lack of the radar from MGS and MGS2. It was easier however, as I found that you could run straight ahead of guards and trigger the next cutscene to avoid them, which was not practical at all in MGS and MGS2. I finally understand the context behind that salute.jpg as well. That was pretty heavy. Great game.

Game 7: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - 15 hours (Finished 2/22/14)
I was really looking forward to this after MGS2. Overall, gameplay wise, it was probably my least favorite. Some acts felt like a nice evolution of the MGS3 gameplay, while others felt like an action game with small bits of stealth. It seemed to wrap up most ends, I think. The game also felt kind of depressing. I've been playing the series for about a month now, and seeing the characters how they are in MGS4 kind of irked me a bit. The fanservice in this game was ridiculous as well especially in Act 4, that was really well done. I still enjoyed it overall.

Game 8: Persona 1- 27 hours (Finished 2/28/14)
Before hopping into Persona 2, I wanted to check out this game first. I honestly didn't like it much at all. The plot was fine enough (At least, the SEBEC route) and the characters were ok, if not thin, but the gameplay felt obtuse, slow and archaic. The plethora of attack types, the various options of demon negotiation, fusion in general, and the expansive dungeons all seem cool at first, but by about mid game, it was all wearing down on me. Too many attack types that weren't worth exploiting since they dragged battles on for too long, the constant failed and questionable negotiations when grinding for spell cards, and getting absolutely lost and swarmed by random encounters. By the end, I had auto battle on every battle and decided to just over level myself for the final boss. From what I've read, I don't think I have it in me to go back and do the Snow Queen Quest.

Game 9: Danganronpa -~25 hours (Finished 3/4/14)
Overall it was a really interesting game. Trials were very engaging and it was interesting seeing how each murder actually took place. Definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Game 10: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - 5 Hours (Finished 3/6/14)
Really short, but the gameplay was great. The soundtrack was hype.

Game 11: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - 20 Hours (Finished 3/12/14)
I'm not sure if I should consider this "finished." I'll probably come back to it, but I just couldn't be bothered to build up Mother Base and grind to get the final chapter.

Game 12: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - 44 Hours (Finished 3/20/14)
After playing through 999 I was extremely hyped to play this. I felt that 999 did a few things better such as atmosphere and characters, but I still wasn't let down. I think the whole Ambidex Game was nicely done. In addition to the flow chart and how the games slowly trickles you information as to what is really going on. The puzzles also really ramped up from 999. Another crazy story all around. Also, Zero Escape 3 NEEDS to happen.

Game 13: Catherine - 14 Hours (Finished 3/28/14)
You know, this game was kind of deceiving. Surely a game about a man facing commitment and other outside influences couldn't be that hard, right? I was wrong. The game starts out easy enough, but the difficulty climbs up so fast and so abruptly that I considered dropping down from normal to easy on more than one occasion. But the those epiphanies you get when you find the a path upward are so good. I stuck with it and got through somehow. Music was nice, characters were as well. I hope Atlus produces more one-off games like this. Despite the difficulty, it felt really unique.

Game 14: Project X Zone - 51 hours (Finished 5/21/14)
I have transcended repetition and have reached infinity.

Game 15: Tales of Symphonia - 47 hours (Finished 6/3/14)
Pretty good. But being spoiled the battle system of newer tales games made it really hard to adapt at first. I'm morbidly curious about Dawn of the New World now

Game 16: Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F - ~8 hours (Finished 6/14/14)
A fun and whimsical rhythm game. I played until I went through all the songs on a few difficulty levels and saw the credits roll.

Game 17: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ~14 hours (Finished 6/23/14)
I don't know why it took so long to get into this series, but I'm glad I tried it out. It's pretty amazing. Cases are mostly interesting and the music is spot on.

Game 18: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All ~15 hours (Finished 7/4/14)
Nice follow up. But one of the cases in particular was a real drag. Still, it was great overall.

Game 19: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations ~18 hours (Finished 7/25/14)
I think this is the best of the original trilogy. The way all the past characters and stories all culminate in this game is fantastic. I suddenly have an urge for coffee...

Game 20: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney - ~17 hours (Finished 8/1/14)
A bit mixed on this one. None of the cases in particular really stood out. But I did find the new characters refreshing. A bit lower than the original trilogy I think, but still really good.

Game 21: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - 31 hours (Finished 8/5/14)
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.

Game 22: Danganronpa (Replay) - ~10-15 hours (Finished 8/14/14)
In my excitement for the sequel I decided to play this again but this time in english. The amount of foreshadowing in the game is crazy. To the point where I look back and think, "How was I surprised by that?" Can't wait for the second game.

Game 23: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies - ~20-24 hours (Finished 8/27/14)
I think I smiled all the way through this one. Seeing Phoenix back in action, Apollo really coming into his own, and all the nods to the other games was really neat. One of the best Ace Attorney games in my opinion. Although, it was a lot easier than all the others. All that's left for me is the Edgeworth games now.

Game 24: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony - ~8 hours (Finished 8/30/14)
This was in my backlog for about 5 years. Needed a break from RPG's and VN's so I decided to start this up. One thing I've liked about the episodes from liberty city was that they took place alongside the main plot of GTA IV, which leads to seeing the other protagonists at points. Overall it was fun, despite being spoiled by the advancements GTA V made. Also Yusef is the greatest.

Game 25: Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - 30 hours (Finished 9/11/14)
A better game than the first in a lot of ways. Probably my GOTY thus far.

Game 26: Pokemon Alpha Sapphire - 26 hours (Finished 11/26/14)
Gen III is my favorite generation and I feel these remakes did them justice, barring a few things. I enjoyed this so much.

Game 27: Super Smash Bros for 3DS - ~40 hours
I feel like I've played long enough to put it on here. Overall, it's still really fascinating to be able to play Smash on a handheld. I'll move on up to Smash Wii U eventually.

Game 28: Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney: Investigations - ~20 hours (Finished 12/11/14)
Seeing things from a different perspective is always great in Ace Attorney. Seeing all the cases being connected is another cool tidbit.

Game 29: Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney: Investigations 2 - ~20 hours (Finished 12/19/14)
I think this game cements itself as my favorite Ace Attorney game. Whereas in other Ace Attorney games where cases are usually standalone or loosely tied together, here in AAI2, each case is intimately tied together with the others. Essentially resulting in no "filler" cases. This kept me wanting to play the game in long sessions to see how everything would finally come together. Definitely one of the best games in the series.

SO I completed alot of games recently that I began in 2013...fml


Anyways I'll do my best, I definitely have more than 52 games to play, but the matter of time permitting completion...Guess we will see wont we

NOTE: I'm in a JRPG craze so time devotion is going to be incredulously disparate over the year lol.

Game 1: Xenogears - DURATION PLAYED~4 hours
Just started this after beating FF7 last week. Liking it thus far....even if it seems to be a shameless byproduct of Evangelion tbh.

Game 2: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - DURATION PLAYED~4 hrs
After this all I have left is Harmony of Dissonance in terms of SOTN clone styled CV's Then I move onto other Metroidvania pastures (and all the other Castlevanias I've yet to play, which is so to dwindling)

Game 3: YS: Memories of Celceta- DURATION PLAYED~10hrs
I'm finding it really hard to complete this game as the plot is sort of lacking I love the gameplay but its becoming increasingly difficult to dedicate time to YS when I have other games beckoning my interest.

Game 4: Pokemon HeartGold - DURATION PLAYED~5hrs
After just having beat Pokemon Y, my Pokemon fever has officially be revitalized and I never got the chance to play HG/SS when they first released...unfortunately if I have to delay the completion of one game it will more than likely be this one.


TOO ANOTHER YEAR!

Game number 3 in the books!
Infamous 2 is done! Played it most of the weekend, I had played it a little when it first came out, but didn't get very far. I wanted to prepare for Second Son, and I'm really glad I did. I thought the first Infamous game was fun but very unpolished. This game is better in every way. Better graphics, better powers, more polished, better story, an ending I did not see coming. Just a terrific game, and I'm really glad I finished it before Second Son comes, and I'm looking forward to Second Son even more now than I was before.

Reserved

Game 1: 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand (360) - ~4 hrs
Starting the show with a show stopper.

Game 2: 10,000,000 (PC) - ~7 hours
I managed to finish this up while blowing off other jobs. It's to Chuzzle what Puzzle Quest was to Bejeweled, and is great fun. I played the Steam version, but I think the mobile version would be even more practical as a procrastination tool, and probably controls better on a touch screen as well.

Game 3: Mega Man X (PS2 collection)
Emulated surprisingly well on the PS2 aside from some sound weirdness here and there. Mega Man X is an excellent game, one of the best on both the platform it was released on and the series it's a part of.

Game 4: Spelunky (PC) - 41 minutes (of ~120 hours at the time)
Yama died, I may have cried (a little). I think Spelunky is one of the finest games ever made, simple as that.

Game 5: Dark Souls (PC) - ~70 hours on that character
I'm not going to say much about Dark Souls as it's already long evident how incredible it is in most every respect. One of my all-time favourites.

Game 6: The Ball (PC) - ~6 hours
A solid first person puzzle game. The puzzles were mostly in the sweet spot of being just complex enough to make you feel like you'd accomplished something, but never frustrating or progress halting. The combat was a bit of an awkward addition to the game, though, that amounted mostly to bowling for zombies with an ancient alien boulder, with the occasional environmental battle against a giant zombie ape boss or such.

Game 7: Solar Jetman (NES) - ~6 hours
In my opinion this is Rare's finest work. A gem of a game, and an interesting early-ish example of (relatively) complex physics modeling in a console title.

Game 8: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (PC) - ~9 hours
As an interested outsider to Warhammer 40k who'd only seen the universe in Relic's prior RTS games, this was a much more personal introduction to the series that I really enjoyed. Brutalizing orks in slow motion as the game's sole method of healing never really got old, either.

Game 9: SteamWorld Dig (PC) - ~6 hours
Dig-Dug and Metroid go really well together! Looking forward to replaying it sometime to get the rest of the achievements! Very cool game.

Game 10: Kairo - ~3 hours
Another great first person puzzler. I loved the surreal geometric environments the designer created here. It didn't take long to get through the main quest of the game, but I'm looking forward to going back sometime to solve the side stuff and get the secret ending.

Game 11: Sniper Elite V2 ~8 hours
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, given the game's reputation, the developer's reputation, and that it was given away free on Steam. A little clunky and busted here and there, but overall a really fun take on the stealth/sniper experience.

Game 12: Aquaria (PC) - ~19 hours
I'm still in awe of this game. Staggering artistry in both quality and quantity, and a great narrative to stitch it all together. Amazing work for just a couple of guys over just a couple of years.

Game 13: Darksiders (PC)- ~20 hours
The adult in me really appreciated the vast post-rapture Earth Vigil created with stylized biblical mythology and Zelda-inspired dungeons and abilities, but the kid in me really appreciated that all that shit took place inside an Image comic from the 90s.

Game 14: Bionic Commando (NES)- ~90 minutes
Probably my favourite NES game. Probably my favourite game translation, too.

Game 15: Binary Domain (PC) - ~12 hours
I definitely didn't expect this to be as good as it was when I first saw it. Crazy transhumanist sci-fi wrapped up in a solid cover shooter. Sweeeet!

Game 16: Rochard (PC) - ~8 hours
It's a fun puzzle platformer starring a space trucker that uses the gravity gun from Half-Life 2 to fight the man. Plus the soundtrack's by the guy who composed Space Debris and it includes a sweet synth remix of Space Debris. Win-win.

Game 17: Castlevania (NES) - 20 years? (That playthrough took around two hours, though)
Throw some more sickles at me now, you asshole. Dracula wasn't a pushover either, but at least you can start right at him after dying. Great classic game, great classic frustration.

Game 18: Mark of the Ninja (PC) - ~12 hours
Probably the most satisfying stealth game I've ever played. I've spent most of my time in the genre feeling like I'm doing it wrong, but everything about Mark of the Ninja is right.

Game 19: Castlevania 2 - ~7 hours
I broke down and abandoned the physical cart for a retranslated ROM after wandering around yelling at NPCs and their lies for several hours. It's a much better game after that.

Game 20: Bionic Commando Rearmed (PC) - ~6 hours
Replaying the NES game got me pining for more of this, so I replayed the remake too. Makes an incredible title even better.

Game 21: The Legend of Zelda (NES) - ~11 hours
One of the first games I'd ever played start to finish, so it was nice to go back through it again after only playing a few dungeons here and there over the last 20 years or so. It really does have a lot in common with Dark Souls - I think Zelda created a real sweet spot in my brain for that kind of open-ended adventure. Not as easy to pull off as something structured and linear, but definitely more satisfying, to me.

Game 22: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES) - ~12 hours
I remember really loving this game when I first went through it as a kid. Even as the franchise grew this was the one that I thought of as the greatest. To myself. Quietly. After replaying it I think I do really like A Link to the Past more, but The Adventure of Link it still way up there, and I'm not afraid to say it anymore.

Game 23: Halo: Reach (XBOX 360) - ~9 hours
It's Halo. I shot, punched, and exploded things. Halo is a lot of fun! I think it's my least favourite of the 360 Halos, despite being the most recent of the Bungie-made games. It's still a great game, though, and I had a great time with my belated playthrough.

Game 24: Diablo III + Reaper of Souls (PC) - ~16 hours
I didn't mind Diablo III so much at launch - I really liked the design change of allowing players to mess with their skill spec at will. The game's weird economy always rubbed me the wrong way, though, so the changes that came with the Loot 2.0 update were a welcome improvement. Plus the new fifth act added in Reaper of Souls was easily the best in the game, and adventure mode / season characters add a lot of replayability for someone like me who never really got into the grind of rerunning the previous Diablo titles.

Game 25: Legend of Grimrock (PC) - ~20 hours
Eye of the Beholder always holds a special place in my heart, and Grimrock is right there next to it. A fantastic throwback to that style of Dungeon Crawler and I'm very much looking forward to digging into the sequel.

Game 26: Doom (PC - Brutal mod) - ~12 hours
Greatest game of all time + greatest mod of all time. Well, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but Doom and Brutal Doom are awesome on a level that few things can touch (or likely want to touch).

Game 27: Metroid (NES) - ~8 hours
A great start to one of my favourite game series, but a little tough to go back to with the stiff controls, infinitely spawning enemies, and cut-and-paste level design (I eventually downloaded a map). A lot of that annoyance was due to technical limitations of the time and Metroid still impresses in what it was doing in 1986.

Game 28: Organ Trail (PC) - ~4 hours
Halloween gaming part 1: I really like Organ Trail and I think it's my new halloween tradition. This time 80s rap icons Slick Rick, Ice T, Marley Marl, Special Ed, and Kool Moe Dee all managed to survive the journey to Safe Haven to rhyme until the end of time.

Game 31: Alan Wake (PC) - ~12 hours
Halloween gaming part 2: It took me a while to get into the game's combat, but game's fantastic writing carried me until I found enjoyed the swing of it after all. Great game, worth the wait.

Game 29: Freedom Fall (PC) - ~2 hours
It's one of those masochistic platformers where you get sawed, impaled, burned, crushed, and electrocuted in varying combinations several times per level, but it has charming writing and is mechanically interesting in a way that many of the post-Super Meat Boy games aren't. i had a lot of fun with this.

Game 30: Jazzpunk (PC) - ~3 hours
Short, put packed so full of interesting stuff that it's the first game that I actually made the effort to go back through and 100%. Probably the best surprise of the year.

Game 32: Alan Wake's American Nightmare (PC) - ~3 hours
Halloween gaming bonus: I can't get enough Alan Wake. Well, Alan Wake's American Nightmare was just the right amount of Alan Wake for just then. The narrative wasn't quite as engaging to me, but I loved Mr. Scratch's nonsense, the improved combat system, and the more open approach to the game.

Game 33: Metroid II: The Return of Samus (Game Boy)
Sure it's more linear than the previous game, but it intruces a lot of things that became staples of the series, and just plays a heck of a lot better overall.

Game 34: Botanicula (PC) - ~2 hours
I love what Amanita Design does, and Botanicula's a fine example of it. Tons of artistic flare. And heart. And in this case, plants.

Game 35: Super Metroid (SNES) - ~6 hours
One of my all-time favourite games and the one I was looking forward to most in the Metroid series playthrough I've been doing. Nostalgia intact, it didn't disappoint, though I missed some of the features added in the Game Boy Advance titles. Still, incredible game. Created a genre.

Game 36: Car Mechanic Simulator 2014 (PC) - ~9 hours
It's more puzzle than actual mechanical simulation, and fairly repetitive and straightforward at that, but there's something entertaining about this game that I can't quite put my finger on that compelled me to play all the way through it. It's just relaxing enough that

Game 37: Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance) - ~7 hours
Went back and got my first 100% in a Metroid game after noticing the way Nintendo opened the game up on a clear save. Always really enjoyed the game, but hunting down all the secrets without locked door restrictions made it even more fun for me.

Game 38: Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC) - ~20 hours
One of the absolute best games in recent memory, and one of the only superhero games I can think of that improved my interest in the hero by the end rather than diminishing it. I spent entire play sessions just getting pummelled in combat challenges when I was warming to continue the campaign. Just thinking about it makes me want to boot the game up again and fight 40 skinheads at once because I'm the goddamned Batman.

Game 39: Gunman Clive (PC) - ~1 hour
Clearly Mega Man inspired, I liked this weird sketchy western take on my favourite lemon shooting blue robot buddy. Short and sweet.

Game 40: Metroid Zero Mission (Game Boy Advance) - ~8 hours
I think this might be my favorite Metroid game after all. It's short, and a rehash of an old story, but the game is just incredibly well made and I was complelled by joy to 100% this one as well.

Game 41: Gunpoint (PC) - ~4 hours
As much as I enjoyed throwing myself silently through office building windows, getting guards to assault other guards in non-lethal deathtraps of my own design, or any of the other fabulous toys the game provided, it's the writing in this game that stood out the most.

Game 42: Evoland (PC) - ~3 hours
It's a simple, interesting idea, travelling through the history of RPGs as an RPG, but it's stretched just a little thin in Evoland. None of the parts are particularly fun to play on their own meant to be more representitive than engaging, so it was a kindness that it was short and that the game switched things up regularly. It's one of those titles that look better in retrospect then while actually playing, I think.

Game 43: A Story About My Uncle (PC) - ~3 hours
This kinetic puzzler is full of charm. It reminded me a lot of Portal in that respect, an interesting narrative that's told in a fairly minimal way, exciting to play, and over before it's stretched the concept too thin.

Game 44: Drill Dozer (Game Boy Advance) - ~6 hours
I really like what GameFreak can come up with when they're allowed to take a break from Pokemon. It's cute and cartoon violent and all sorts of fun. And it has a motor in the cart!

Game 45: Limbo (360) - ~3 hours
It's kind of amazing how the shadow-puppet style makes all the gruesome death in this game seem more horrifying than other games. None of the explicit gore in something like Dead Space affected me as much as Limbo's demure brutality did.

Game 46: Outland (360) - ~8 hours
This game mashes together a lot of different things. The look is kind of mixture of various cultural tidbits from Greece and South America, slapped together with the delicious glowy aesthetic of Tron. It slaps together Ikaruga and Metroid and makes a type of bullethell platformer I'd have never have even considered. Really enjoyed what Housemarque created with Outland.

Game 47: The Maw (PC) - ~4 hours
The game here is pretty simple, but the characters are so lovingly animated that it was never really felt boring (though a run button would've been nice). There was just enough variation to carry it through the four hours I played it, and I'm glad I did.

Game 48: Heretic (PC) - ~10 hours
Happy anniversary Heretic! I always liked Raven's dark fantasy series, but I think I enjoyed Heretic just a little more than the rest because it stuck so close to the Doom formula that I enjoyed so much. Interesting levels populated and lots and lots of things to explode with magic. Definitely a good time, and a classic as far as I'm concerned.

Game 49: Star Fox (SNES) - ~2 hours
I like Star Fox. I didn't own it as a kid, and never managed to get all the way through Venom the times I did play it back then. It's not a long game and certainly dated in almost every way a 3D game from the early 90s can be, I still really enjoyed it. Dylan Cuthbert's awesome.

Game 50: Shadow Complex (360) - ~6 hours
Finally got the completionist achievement, which I skipped on my first playthrough back in 2011. Great Metroidvania game - I hope Chair eventually goes back to the franchise.

Game 51: Star Fox 64 3D (3DS) - ~2 hours
Star Fox didn't satisfy my Star Fox hunger so I played some more Star Fox. It was definitely Star Fox. And was pretty darned good. Dylan Cuthbert is still awesome - the 3D remake's a great way to experience this game.

Game 52: Little Inferno (PC) - ~5 hours over the course of a year and a half
One of those games that I messed with here and there for a long time - very much a charming time waster, and a quick way to get a 52nd game when I forgot about the header line in my spreadsheet. Plus I can't afford or trust myself with real fireworks for new year's celebrating. Happy new year folks!

I'm totally down to do this. I just got a PS3 again and redownloaded 210 GB of games from my account that I bought and either didnt' play or barely touched before selling (don't ask, I used to be an idiot). That plus having a PS4 and Xbox One, I'm set with games.

Game 1: WWE 2K14-10 hours to take my time and beat/enjoy the 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode. Very fun!

Game 1: Fire Emblem Awakening - 1.5 hours on going
# Playing through on hard using a different avatar setup

Game 2: Balduar's Gate Enhanced Edition - 30 Minutes on going
# No Comment

Game 3: Brothers - 45 Minutes on going
# No comment

Meh I finish like 70+ games a year so this is super easy. I plan to do 100 this year. Already have 4 in the books.

Game 4: Gunpoint - 2.5 hours according to Steam, probably more like 3
I'm not as high on this as other people seem to be. For having such a high number of entities in each level I don't think the game produced that interesting situations. I was expecting to have to set up more elaborate chain reactions, but most levels can be solved in a few completely independent steps. The plot also lost me fairly quickly, I didn't keep up with all the names. Best part is probably the music. Overall though I think The Swapper is a much better game even if it only got a fraction of the recognition Gunpoint did.

Question that has probably already been asked. FOr like Episodic series', are they one game each?