MRORANGE said:

Looks like July seems a great month for some people:

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Guns, Countless Bullets and an almost endless wave of Zombies.

There is something strangely satisfying about playing this game with your favourite playlist playing in the background. That feeling of leaning back in your comfy chair and unleashing a wave of molten metal justice into the unsuspecting horde of zombies. I'm not usually one for such mindless carnage (although now I think about it I enjoyed the hell out of Carmageddon all those years ago). Yet, I found myself turning to this game when I had no idea what else to play.

I'm not going to sugar coat the game at all, it 'says what it is on the tin' to be fair to the developers - It's Zombie Shooter. That's all there is to it, yet there feels like there's more.
It has a Campaign and a Survival Mode, both of which are pretty fun, although I did find myself enjoying the Survival Mode more. In Survival Mode you have survive as many Zombie Waves as you can in a small confined area. There are a selection of maps (each with their own unique element), a wide range of guns and a collection of power ups to use as you see fit. Interestingly there's a perk system too, which allows you to customise your character as you level up from killing the Zombies and surviving the waves.

Campaign mode was OK for what it is, a isometric 'corridor' shooter, and doesn't really try to be anything else. However, it does suffer from some environmental clipping, which is perhaps the most danger you'll find yourself in as it's easy to become trapped/stuck (forcing you to restart the level).
Much like the Survival mode you can upgrade your character, but you have to find the guns to unlock them (rather than the guns falling off of Zombies and into your lap).
I think what I really liked about the Campaign was that there wasn't a half-arsed story tacked onto it to try and justify the mindless onslaught against the Zombie Hoard. It just plonked you into the game and allowed you to go. It makes me realise that I'd actually like to see a Zombie Movie based on that idea - no poorly written story with terrible actors, just a person or two killing endless zombies before the zombies kill them.

The controls are basic and use as WSAD approach with Mouse aiming, sadly no gamepad support (that I could find). There are no real options to customise resolution or graphics, so you'll have to make do with what they offer. The sound is OK, but not amazing. I do feel as though this game is missing out on a killer soundtrack to support the carnage.

If you have low expectations, and are perhaps just looking for something to sit back and waste a few hours on this game is ideal - it might even surprise you.

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A game about making games, and if you wanted you could make a game about making games in this game about making games. You might even call that game 'Xzibit's Exhibit'. Maybe.

You start as a lone game developer in your garage during the 80s, you work away making basic games and hoping they'll be successful. For legal reasons real life consoles and PCs names aren't used (however this is easily changed with mods), but the game does a good job of hinting at which 'console era' you're working in.
It even has loose story elements as it recreates historic console releases and events, so if you know your gaming history you might be able to plan around these accordingly.

As you progress through the game, and with each game you make you gain experience, which you can use to learn new aspects for your games as you create the 'perfect game engine' for your crazy creations. You might want to have a one-use-for-all Engine, or you might even create Genre Specific engines. However, you'll soon realise that time and resource management will become an issue the bigger you aim with your gaming projects.
You can choose a Topic and the sub genres within it - Sports RPG? Zombie Simulator? Then within that design process you choose where to allocate time and effort - gameplay? Sound? Level Design? What's more important to you?

I do wish it went a little deeper, but what it does offer was good enough to spend 6+ hours in the '35 Year' Storyline playthough.
In short it's a fun game, and the fun comes from your imagination and sharing your creation with friends. What will your biggest game be?

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Minishdriveby said:

My goal is to read 24 books (I tend to pick lengthy books and Science courses in University usually require a lot of reading already), watch 356 movies, and now I guess complete 52 games.

I'll reserve a spot for the game sections of this, and if you guys want you can keep track of my other goals on my blog I just started: Iridiumtipped.wordpress.org. Sorry if this sounds like just another plug, I don't want it to be shameless advertising of a blog. I'm just excited to share with people what I'm reading, playing, watching and listening too.

I'll make a commitment to stick with this thread though throughout the year as well as my blog. One quick question, can already started games be eligible for this challenge? Or only new games?


Updated: 7/5/14

Games: 39/52

GAME 1: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds -14 hours 47 min (5hrs in 2014)
#: I started this on Christmas, but I wasn't able to finish before the new Year, so this will be the first game I complete in 2014. I'm at the final dungeon now, really neat game although eerily similar to ALTTP which isn't really a bad thing.
#Beat the final boss
Status: Beaten! - 1/2/2014

GAME 2: VVVVVV - 2 hours
#: A pretty frustrating game. I felt the controls were really loose, so every time you moved and let go of the arrow key the character would move a little bit farther which was difficult getting use to, but it was free ($0.49 which was paid for with steam cards) and wasn't that long of a game, so it was worth it. I only collected 9 trinkets, but I saw the credits roll.
Status: Beaten! - 1/5/2014

GAME 3: Tomb Raider (2013) - 10-15 Hours?
#: I'm halfway through Tomb Raider (2013). It's pretty neat, but I don't really feel strongly in one way or another about it. I think it's cool you can back track and open up new areas with new equipment you find, but there's just no sense of urgency in the combat after playing The Last of Us. I think The Last of Us has really ruined cinematic action games for me because of how well crafted it is. The regenerating health in most modern games in this genre have really made me numb to the fact that a savage is running at me with a pick-axe. The story is also shit, voice acting is meh, and there's something about Laura's animation that is off to me. The bow is fun as hell to use though. I'm thinking I'll be finishing the story by the end of the week.
#: The game got better as you gained more equipment and opened up a little bit of exploration. I definitely felt the heavy influence of the Uncharted series throughout the adventure with certain scenes mimicking Uncharted. I thought it did do some things better than Uncharted though; you can quick travel back to and often times loop to previous areas when new equipment is found and it opens up new pathways. The weapon system is better, allowing Lara to carry all guns she receives unlike Uncharted where only 2 weapons can be carried at a time; however, Naughty Dog changed their system in TLoU to include carrying all weapons at once, and the ability to upgrade them. Tomb Raider also has side quests and objectives to fool around with which I thought was something improved on the uncharted formula.
#: The story and characters though... jesus. Some really shitty paranormal story goes on. Uncharted does those better. Lara has a bunch of weird college friends she hangs out with who tend to cheer her on and call her a badass after she saves them from getting eaten by presumably cannibals. Lara's main mode of transportation is falling. She's about as graceful as a drunk girl trying to find her dorm room on a friday night. I know they were trying to make her a strong female character, but watching her get hit repeatedly in the face by a bunch of men, Falling on her head or getting pierced through the stomach every couple of minutes, and wading through poop and blood rivers (which is a scene straight from Descent) just made me feel like they went overboard with trying to show she was strong and ultimately failed. Sure she survived something that she was literally impossible of surviving, but she didn't look extremely competent either when she just gets hurt in every conceivable way. I was falling down a waterfall once, and I pressed jumped by accident and Lara was impaled through the throat on a stick. Game Over.
#: I had a lot of fun with the game as it progressed, once equipment opened up and lite-exploration became available. As the gameplay expanded the story and characters kind of imploded, but it made for a good laugh. A drinking game could be made for the amount of falling Lara does.
Status: Beaten! 1/11/2014

GAME 4: Proteus - 31 minutes
#: An extremely interesting game. I bought it after playing and enjoying Dear Esther and hearing about it on GiantBomb's GOTY podcast. You just walk around pretty peaceful environments watching how they change as season's progress. The visuals were pretty charming and made the environments look rather beatuiful, and it was all done with what looks to be MS Paint (probably not, but it looks that way). Every animal and structure in the environment appears to have a different sound which was lovely to listen to. You do nothing but walk around, much like Dear Esther, but I find these games enjoyable and calming every once in awhile, and they don't last long enough to become irritating or grating.
Status: Beaten! - 1/11/2014

GAME 5: Dark Souls NG+++ - 15 hours
#: I wanted to do a really quick run through of Dark Souls before the game released. I also never played/bought/finished Artorias of the Abyss and had a NG+++ save file with a lordvessel, so this playthrough was me mostly doing the DLC content which was freaking amazing. Hyped for Dark Souls II.
Status: Beaten! -

GAME 6: Mark of the Ninja - 6 Hours
#: Really neat. I'm on the penultimate level right now. Cool stealth game.
#: The ending level was a little underwhelming. Just walk in a straight line, but the other levels were pretty awesome.
Status: Beaten! - 1/20/2014

Game 7: Zone of the Enders - 4 hours 26 minutes
#Pretty cool robots. Combat could get a little repetitive, and I cannot believe it was that short. I thought I would be going to Mars. Can't wait to play the sequel which is suppose to be better.
Status: Beaten! - 2/8/2014

Game 8: Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - 8 hours 32 minutes
#An improvement over the first game with more hectic combat; however, the hectic combat doesn't always add up to the best camera scheme. Automatic lock-on can cause frustration when there are a hundred enemies on screen; there were a couple instances where the game really frustrated me because of this. It runs extremely smooth, and you get some extremely cool sub-weapons/power-ups late into the game.
Status: Beaten! - 2/11/2014

Game 9: Fire Emblem: Awakening - 17 hours 26 minutes
#I started it last year then stopped around chapter 18 for some reason or other. I picked it up again in late January, restarted the game and had a blast once again. It was on my GotY list for a reason last year. My 3DS activity log has over 200 hours in Fire Emblem, but that's because my girlfriend and I share the 3DS. She's gone through the game multiple times, and I've gone through it 1.5 times now. I finished the campaign with no one dying. I got 7 or 8 children too, until I just wanted to move on and finish the campaign. I'll go back and get the rest of the kids eventually.
Status: Beaten - 2/15/2014


Game 10: SteamWorld Dig - 4 hours 26 minutes
#Great Dig Dug-esque game with power ups. A little short, and I wish it had bosses outside of the final boss.
Status: Beaten -2/18/2014

Game 11: Rouge Legacy - 18 hours 26 minutes
#Started it late December and was hooked for a solid week, but got distracted with other games. It's an amazing game for anyone looking for a castlevania rouge-like. Praise the archmage with the time spells! They're an unstoppable force!
Status: Beaten - 2/28/2014

Game 12: Outland - 4 hours 33 minutes
#Really neat amalgamation of a classic Prince of Persia game and Ikaruga.
Status: Beaten - 4/10/2014

Game 13: Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - 10 hours and 18 minutes
#I know the internet has been asking for a Zelda in the style of Dark Souls, but that game has already been made. Zelda II felt extremely similar in many ways to Demon's Souls/Dark Souls; hidden areas, difficult combat, penalty for game overs including restarting from a central temple or hub and losing all exp points. I really enjoyed how different the game was from the rest of the series, especially how ganon was nowhere to be seen (except for game over sequence). It's importance to the series is usually understated. The journey to the great palace was terrible though...
Status: Beaten - 4/16/2014

Game 14: Crash Bandicoot - ~8 hours
#The game has an infuriating save system that sets you back a couple levels if you get a game over. Platforming could become pretty difficult, especially due to the added depth in 2D platforming levels.
Status: Beaten - 4/27/2014

Game 15: Persist - ~20 minutes
#Really short free to play indie game on gamejolt. I had some time in the internet cafe on campus waiting for my girlfriend to get out of class, and ended up finding this really neat game. It takes you through 3 or 4 levels and has a really interesting twist ending. I was debating whether or not to add this to my 52 games, but in the end it's a game, no matter how small or short, and the effort the developer put into it should be recognized.
Status: Beaten - 4/12/2014

Game 16: Gargantua ~ 3 hours
#Really great recommendation from this month's indie gaf thread. It's only 7 levels long composed of shadow of the colossus meets patapon-esque boss fights. Each boss fight is more difficult than the next. There was a lot of frustration on level 4 due to jumping into lava while trying to make my way across to the next level (this occurred after beating the Gemini). Anyway awesome game and I can't wait to play more of Schizoid's album.
Status: Beaten - 4/29/2014

Game 17: How Mosquito Became Human ~ 30 minutes
#Frog controls are extremely hard.
Status: Beaten - 4/29/2014

Game 18: Tower of Heaven ~30-45 minutes
#Really neat free little title with gameboy astetics. Can be a rather challenging platformer. Each new room brings about new restrictions on the character. For example, no walking left, no touching sides of blocks, no touching organic life, etc.
Status: Beaten - 4/30/2014

Game 19: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back ~ 5 hours
#Better than the first game. Some of the level design can get repetitive though
Status: Beaten - 5/6/2014

Game 20: Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped ~ 5 hours
#The best crash of the 3 games. I collected all the crystals, but I don't want to bother with the gems. I saw the ending credits.
Status: Beaten - 5/7/2014

Game 21: Beneath the Surface ~ 10 minutes
#I've been playing a couple Ludum Dare challenges this year after learning about it. This was one of the entries highlighted on IndieStatik for the 29th Ludum Dare Challenge. Really neat game with a cool narrative. I'm really enjoying these small independent titles, especially now that I'm working 2 jobs.
Status: Beaten - 5/12/2014

Game 22: Where Gods Sleep ~ 20 minutes
#My second Ludum Challenge game today. It's been a really slow night at work; I needed something to do. I'll have to go back and see how the music is because I was playing with it muted, but the visuals are really something. It has an interesting light/dark world mechanic too. It was a little confusing to navigate though, and I didn't really know what the objective was until the end, but maybe audio cues help (if there are any).
Status: Beaten - 5/12/2014

Game 23: Titan Souls ~ 1 hour
#Pretty neat Ludum Challenge game. The ending was disappointing though.
Status: Beaten - 5/13/2014

Game 24: Midas ~20 min
#Winner of the 22nd Ludum Dare. Neat puzzle platformer.
Status: Beaten - 5/17/2014

Game 25: Spyro the Dragon ~5-8 hours
#Pretty good. I thought it was better than Crash Bandicoot. I thought the lack of any real goals other than collect treasure was a little boring at first as the worlds were pretty empty and expansive, but the collect-a-thon clicked a couple of worlds in. I'll be play the rest of the Insomniac Trilogy this year too. Skylanders is tempting...
Status: Beaten - 5/18/2014

Game 26: The Sea Has No Claim ~30-45 minutes
#A game by Lucas Pope, creator of Papers, Please, for the 29th Ludum Dare. Based off of the events of Flight 370. The player must search for crash planes in the sea and find them in a timely manner to save survivors of the crash. I completed all maps. It was pretty fun and each new area gives you access to new search methods. If the submarines (which save survivors after locating the crash) are not directly on the crash site then you fail which got annoying when my submarines were a couple pixels away from the crash site. Cool game over all though.
Status: Beaten - 5/24/2014

Game 27: Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage ~5-8 hours
#A lot more focused than the first Spyro game. Each world was unique and offered silly themes and locals. I collected 7,777 gems and 43 orbs. I'll probably take a little break from the Spyro trilogy and play a couple other games before coming back to start the third game.
Status: Beaten - 5/26/2014

Game 28: rain ~ 3-4 hours
#Very simple game with no real challenge, but the relaxing atmosphere of rain drops and Chopin along with the tense moments of being chased by the monsters really made me enjoy the game. Extremely concise and sweet.
Status: Beaten - 5/26/2014

Game 29: The Legend of Zelda - 5 hours 31 min.
#I've been working on this since I beat Adventure of Link. It was nice to go back and finally play the original. I had to use a guide to find all the secret areas, but I tried to do the dungeons without a map. I'm not sure how anyone could beat these games without looking up things because there are just so many hidden objects. Zelda II was the same in that regard.
Status: Beaten - 5/27/2014

Game 30: Monument Valley ~ 1-2 hours
#Really neat perspective puzzles. Beautiful atmosphere and the environment has some neat musical notes when played around with. It's definitely a contender for my favorite game released in 2014 at the moment.
Status: Beaten - 5/28/2010

Game 31: Ridiculous Fishing ~ 8-11 hours
#I got off of work today came home at 5PM and neglected everything to 100% this game. I basically played it start to finish. It's now 2:14AM and I can finally say that I've filled out the entire fishopedia. I caught all 66 fish. The Moray was the last one on the list and it was a nuisance to find. Such a great game. Vlambeer are quickly becoming one of my favorite developers.
Status: Beaten - 5/30/2014

Game 32: Metroid Fusion - 4 hours 35 minutes
#Really enjoyed the atmosphere. Gameplay and exploration relied too much on hidden pathways which was a bit annoying for navigation at times. Boss fights were awesome.
Status: Beaten - 6/6/2014

Game 33: The Plan - 8 minutes
#You're a fly. You fly up. The ending is great. It's free on Steam, and was made by the developers of Among the Sleep.
Status: Beaten(?) - 6/9/2014

Game 34: You Have to Win The Game - 2 hours 44 minutes
#Really fun free platformer on steam, sort of reminded me of VVVVV due to all the spike traps, but a lot less frustrating. I ended up getting 100%.
Status: Beaten - 6/12/2014

Game 35: Pandora's Tower - 14 hours 46 minutes
#I got a fairly bad ending (the game has multiple endings). It was very blunt way to end the game, so to get some closure I looked the true ending up online which was much more satisfying. I'm not sure if I would have to replay the game to see it, but having already gone through all the bosses and dungeons I don't want to do it again. The game is pretty neat. I enjoyed it much more than The Last Story, another title in the Operation Rainfall campaign. Very cool boss designs, challenging, and the dungeons had a good sense of verticality. A couple of the towers repeated themes which was somewhat annoying and the final tower with invisible warp points that you had to use perishable items to find was the biggest pain in the ass.
Status: Beaten - 6/13/2014

Game 36: Gravity Bone & Thirty Flights of Loving - 55 minutes
#While these are two separate games, Gravity Bone came packaged with Thirty Flights of Loving and is the prequel to Thirty Flights of Loving. Because both were so short and were played back to back in one sitting, I thought I should package them together on my list as well. Both had me smiling the whole time. I really loved the atmosphere and music.
Status: Beaten - 7/4/2014

Game 37: LOVE - 33 minutes
#A retro platformer with what looks like an Atari 5200 aesthetic. 12 levels all of which are filled with challenging platforms and a great soundtrack to accompany each level. The game ends up being a time trial. The faster you get through the level, the fewer checkpoints you spawn, and the less you die, the more your score goes up. Really cool experience.
Status: Beaten - 7/4/2014

Game 38: Year Walk - 2 hours
#Woah! Creepy. Cool music. Cool atmosphere. Cool Story. Great Horror Game to play with the lights off. Puzzles did stump me in some areas.
Status: Beaten - 7/5/2014

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Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons is essentially a very story driven experience with some interesting puzzle elements to break up the gameplay. I don't want to say much more than that as the 'game' is very much the experience rather than the gameplay.

The use of the dual analog sticks to control both the Sons independently is a nice twist, and something I'd like to see more of (even if at times it was slightly confusing). In fairness it's only one of the bold decisions the developers made with Brothers, and for me most (if not all) of them worked.
The use of dual analog sticks; the belief in their storytelling being strong enough to not include subtitles to translate the pseudo-langauge they created within the game; and ultiamtely the story you experience.

It's a short review for a short game that lasted just shy of 3 hours in total, and the only thing I can really end this recommendation is:

If you enjoy indie games and the 'Art' experience they often deliver this for you. If you prefer deeper gameplay than this might not be what you're looking for, but it's still a worthwhile purchase for the narrative and platform-puzzle elements it provides.

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