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[Lemstar]

20: Zone of the Enders (PS3) - 4h (03/10/14 - 03/11/14)

Felt kind of mediocre, to be honest. Zooming around is fun, but the combat just didn't feel involved enough to keep it interesting. And yes, the main character's voice was awful.

I'm expecing ZoE2 to be better on all fronts, based on what I've heard.

 

[The Illiterati]

27. Professor Layton and the Last Specter
I gotta take a break from these! But I finally finished the DS ones, which I'm glad to say.

28. South Park: The Stick of Truth
This game was fantastic. Perfect length, any longer and it would've overstayed its welcome, IMO.

29. Tappingo
Puzzles 50 and up are far too small even for the 3DSXL screen, IMO. And the level of challenge is not really there. It's a good game for the cheap price, but it doesn't make me want to addictively play more like Picross/Slitherlink.

30. The Room 2
I can't get enough of these types of puzzles, so for me it's just too easy and short since I can't stop playing until I've beaten them all. Love it.

 

[walkmetothelake]

March:

Game 16: Tomb Raider: Chronicles (PC) - 6 hrs 38 mins
Was really let down by this one. It felt like an overly simplified version of the previous Core TR titles (I under ten times.) All of the levels/sections were bottom tier TR levels except for the Ireland/young Lara levels. If the rest of the game was as atmospheric as those levels I might have been able to forgive the other issues at least a bit.

Game 17: Blackwell Legacy (PC) - 2 hrs 20 mins
A cute little point and click title. In parts it felt reminiscent of the Hotel Dusk games due to location and some of the character interactions. Definitely looking forward to playing the other three.

Game 18: Blackwell Unbound (PC) - 1 hr 29 mins
More of the same from the original. I thought how they made a prequel with older looking graphics was really cool. I have two more in the series and can't wait to get to them. I just wish these were a little longer. :l

Game 19: The Walking Dead: Season 1 (Vita) - ~11 hours **
Played through this one again for fun. Made different choices from past playthroughs (rude to Kenny constantly, saved Doug, etc.) Can't wait for the rest of Season 2 to release.

Game 20: Blackwell Convergence (PC) - 2 hrs 12 mins
Probably my favorite of the four games released so far. The atmosphere in these games is so fantastic. I also really like the soundtrack and will be purchasing those as soon as possible.

Game 21: Blackwell Deception (PC) - 2 hrs 36 mins
Another fantastic Blackwell title. These are probably my favorite point and click titles. I've always been pretty indifferent towards the genre but these have made me want to check out more. I'll be playing Gemini Rue soon and am looking forward to the final Blackwell title.

Game 22: Mass Effect (PS3) - 40 hrs 18 mins **
Playthrough 1/3 for the plat. Saved Kaidan, didn't kill Wrex, made mostly paragon decisions, and romanced nobody to set up for 2 and 3. Will update time after each playthrough.

Game 23: Tearaway (Vita) - ~8 hrs
Absolutely loved this one. The art style is incredibly charming and this is one of the few Vita games to make use of the various touch pads and what not. The gyro controls for the platforms in one of the last levels were an absolute mess though. It's too bad that this one sold so poorly because I thought it was definitely better than all of the LBP titles. The only thing I prefer LBP for is the level editor and that wouldn't really make sense here.

Game 24: Lone Survivor: Director's Cut (PS3) - 2 hrs 58 mins
First playthrough. Will definitely be going back for more endings. This is both one of the best indie titles i've played but also the best survival horror title in years for me. The atmosphere and soundtrack were similar in quality to my favorite horror titles. There was a bit of an unexpected difficulty spike in the basement because I was doing a playthrough without rotten meat for the trophy but otherwise I fully enjoyed this one. <3

original post

 

[StingX2]

Game 15: Metroid II: Return of Samus -2:58
(Started 3/11/14 / Finished 3/12/14)
100% of all items and just barely got the best time, although completely accidental. I never gave this Metroid a chance but man its not bad. Well except the Spider Ball, great idea but worst responding controls ever.

Original Post

 

[chrominance]

Week 10. Nothing much to report here, partially because I'm on a work trip and so don't have access to any consoles or my home PC. That means I've been getting cozy with Bravely Default again--after what felt like a while trying to grind until I could reliably stay alive to the end of a Chapter 2 dungeon, I managed to break through to Chapter 3.

Also put in a few hours on Final Fantasy XIII-2 before I left. That game's managed a surprising feat: it actually made me change my mind on one of XIII's main characters for the better. I don't know if that makes me like it more (read: despise it less) than XIII, though, because I just hit Academia 400AF and oh man did it just get super annoying with the constant battles everywhere you go.

I now have a copy of Atelier Escha & Logy in my hands, thus continuing my streak of ordering Atelier games from Amazon.ca only to cancel in the end because I bought it in person somewhere else. So that'll be my main squeeze once I get home.

 

[StingX2]

Game 16: A.R.E.S -2 Hours
(Started 10/4/13 / Finished: 3/13/14)
Such a Mega Man clone, specifically Mega Man Zero. It works though, the game is decent and remains to be fun without being brutally hard. It does have a lot of instant death though.

OP

 

[Rubius]

Game 10 : South Park The Stick Of Truth - 02/12/14 - 17 hours

Really enjoyed the game as a fan of the show. The gameplay was uninteresting, but I didnt play the game for the gameplay, but to see a 14 hours long episode of South Park. And I got what I wanted. Would recommend to every fan of the show.

 

[AdventureMike]

Game 6: Star Ocean: The Second Story - 39 hours, 17 mins

This game complete has been 15 years in the making for me. I have owned the game since it was new and just never finished it. Several false starts.

Overall some thoughts:

- It is still a terrific game with a great story.
- It still looks beautiful for a PS1 game.
- The options are solid and I never felt sad with any of my choices. The characters are very cool and interesting.

One big con:

- The battle system does not hold up. It might be just how many games I've played since then and am used to more modern features, but there were some inexcusable parts of the battle system. One of which, is the potential to whiff your target, over and over and over again because they are in the air and you are using a melee character. Another is the potential for your character to be given status effects like "Stone" or "Paralyze" on a single random hit. Get your guy un-paralyzed? Good, the enemy just nicked him again and is re-paralyzed. Since stone and paralyze are treated as the equivalent of death in this game, it got very annoying, very quickly.

A couple smaller annoying cons:

- You are limited to holding 20 of an item at a time. This just doesn't feel like enough when you are blowing through MP regen items especially.

- The AI for characters you aren't using don't make great decisions much of the time. It will happily stand in bad stuff and get pummeled. It will cast spells that you don't want and the options for giving your characters "Do X most of the time" is very limited. This goes hand in hand with the previous complaints about the battle system and makes me just wish the whole thing was turn based.

Main Post Link

 

[Boy Wander]

One more down:

Game 9: Sonic the Hedgehog (Megadrive) - Completed with 4 Chaos Emeralds. A couple of hours tops

So I was watching RunButtons '20 Years of Sonic' Let's Play where they play every Sonic game from Sonic 1 to Generations, and I got the itch to fire up the old Megadrive and play this. It looks like turd on my LCD TV but was still playable. Overall I enjoyed revisiting it, mainly because of the music and the nostalgia factor. Green Hill Zone is by far the best stage in my opinion - in other stages they just slow Sonic down too much. Still - I enjoyed my little nostalgia hit and will likely fire up Sonic 2 next. Was also really pleased with the fact that I managed to finish it first time through. I remember when I was a teenager, I used to find the later stages really difficult for some reason.

OP

 

[RavenValor95]

I've been doing this since around the start of the year, but I only recently got approved for membership so now I can actually join in!

Doing this challenge has actually done wonders for the amount of games I finish, I've already finished more games this year than I did in the entirety of last 2013.

I will admit that I'm playing a bit fast and loose with the rules of this challenge, so I hope no one is too bothered by me including games I've started in previous years and counting episodes of games as individual games(Well, for games like The Walking Dead and Half Life anyway, I personally wouldn't count Alan Wake's episodes as individual games)


January


1. Mortal Kombat 9(PC) - Jan 3rd(Started in 2013)- Time: 8.6hrs
Really fun game, story is insane, and the cutscenes are a very low resolution(Apparently this can be fixed by replacing the PC versions cutscenes with the PS3's cutscenes, but I can't be bothered to download 14GBs to fix cutscenes)


2. VVVVVV(PC) - Jan 4th - Time Taken: 2.8hrs
Pretty fun little indie game, really enjoy the music.

3. Ghostbusters: The Videogame(PC) - Jan 7th - Time: 6.2hrs
I was really surprised to see this game pop back up on Steam, and as soon as it did, I made sure to purchase it since I really enjoyed the demo I played of it back on PS3.

Overall a very fun game.

4. Castle of Illusion HD(PC) - Jan 7th - Time: 1.8hrs
This is a really great remake/modernization of an old game, it's sooo pretty.
Do yourself a favour and check out the high resolution PC screenshot thread on here and look for some screens of this game, it's crazy how good looking it is.

5. InJustice: Gods Among Us: Ultimate Edition(PS4) - Jan 7th - Time: 4hrs
I really like this game, it's a lot simpler than Mortal Kombat, but that's sort of what I enjoy about it.
Poor Shazam though always the butt of the joke.

6. Batman: Arkham City(PC) - Jan 8th(Started in 2013) - Time: 8hrs
Really enjoyed this game, I bought it on PS3 when it first came out and thought it was okay, but playing it again on Steam and with SweetFX to make the graphics look better, the game is just crazy enjoyable.

Controls really well on Mouse + Keyboard as well.

7. Deadpool(PC) - Jan 10th- Time: 6hrs
Fun little game, taken off of steam now unfortunately, so I'm glad I managed to pick it up when I did.

8. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance(PC) - Jan 10th- Time: 4hrs
RULES OF NATURE! 10/10

9. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD(PC) - Jan 11th(Started in 2013)- Time: 8.9hrs
This game is pretty Odd, it's the first ever Oddworld game I've finished, I think I'll give Munch's Oddysee a shot next since Abe's Oddysee doesn't want to work on my computer

10. Batman Arkham City NG+(PC) - Jan 14th- Time: 11hrs
This took me longer than my first playthrough since I did all the sidequests this time(That includes collecting all 440 Riddler trophies)

11. Max Payne 2(PC) - January 17th(Started in 2013)- Time: 5.1hrs
Feels a bit weird playing Max Payne 2 because i haven't finished Max Payne 1, the game freaked out on me, no sound, weird doorways with graphical errors, just an overall unenjoyable experience on modern sytems.

Thankfully Max Payne 2 works very well on modern systems and is pretty fun as well.

12. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood(PC) - January 24th- Time: 10hrs
I really enjoyed this game, definitely my favourite Assassin's Creed game that I've finished so far(I've finished AC1,2, and B now)

13. Gunman Clive(PC) - January 26th- Time: 86 minutes
Made by a member on NeoGaf, it was a very fun little game.
I've made sure to support it by gifting it to my brother, as well as buying it for myself on PC and 3DS.

14. Hydrophobia: Prophecy(PC) - January 27th- Time: 2.3hrs
Really simplistic game, I'm not a fan of it overall, the voice acting is a bit too odd for my taste and the gameplay is super simplistic.

15. Joe Danger 2: The Movie(PC) - January 29th- Time: 2hrs
Got this from the Humble Bundle, and it's pretty fun, not really a lot to say about it, it's Joe Danger 1 but with more stuff.

16. Resident Evil: Revelations(3DS) - January 30th(Started in 2012)- Time: 7.4hrs
I've never been the biggest Resident Evil fan, in fact, up until Resident Evil Revelations I had never finished a single Resident Evil game, which is weird since REvelations is the game that made me want to purchase a 3DS in the first place.


17. Deadlight(PC) -January 31st(Started in 2013)- Time: 4.5hrs
Really enjoyed this game, I tried to get 100% achievements but the Nightmare difficulty(Essentially, ironman mode, one life only, die once and you're game is over permanently) made me give that up, so now I just have 30/31 achievements for it.

February


18. Bad Bots(PC) - February 1st- Time: 4hrs
It's bad, I regret playing this game and I also regret getting every achievement.
I wanted to increase my Avg. game completion rate on Steam, but now for some reason it's gotten glitched and displays 0%, so it was all for nothing.

19. Bionic Dues(PC) - February 2nd- Time: 2.7hrs
Eh, it's okay, nothing really stood out to me about the game but it's okay.

20. Resident Evil 5(PC) - February 3rd(Started in 2012)- Time: 11hrs
I started this game, a LONG time ago, and only recently got around to finishing it.
I'm still not the biggest fan of Resident Evil 5, but it's pretty fun.

21. Resident Evil: Revelations(PC) - February 4th(Started in 2013)- Time: 3.9hrs
Yep. I double dipped.
I wanted to see how much better the game controlled with KB+M, and the answer is....A lot better.

It took me around half as long to complete this game as it did on the 3DS, so yeah...pretty damn good.

22. F.E.A.R. 2 + Project Reborn DLC(PC) - February 4th- Time: 4.6hrs
Pretty fun game, I prefer F.E.A.R. 1 more overall, but this game has some very nice environments(the school level was fantastic)

23. Jazzpunk(PC) - February 6th- Time: 101 minutes
Very funny game, I LOVED the Wedding Cake mini-game.

24. Call of Duty: Ghosts(PS4) - February 10th- Time: 5hrs
I have no idea what happened in this game, but hey, I finished it.

25. Tomb Raider(2013)(PC) - February 12th- Time: 6.8hrs
I really enjoyed the auto cover mechanic, I think that works really well and helped make combat flow a lot better.

But I didn't really get into anything else, the story and characters just didn't click with me.
I miss old sassy lara

26. Fairy Bloom Freesia(PC) - February 14th(Started in 2013)- Time: 2.8hrs
The in-game art is beautiful, but my lord, the 2D portraits for the cutscenes are awful!
It looks like the artist learnt how to draw from a "How to Draw Anime" book.

27. Marlow Briggs(PC) - February 15th(Started in 2013)- Time: 3.9hrs
It's basically DmCMC if DmCMC had a sense of humour.
Very fun game, and also very funny.

28. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct(PC) - February 19th- Time: 3.8hrs
Not as bad as I was expecting it to be, I really enjoyed how seamlessly it would alternate between FPS and survival horror, I imagine if Terminal Reality had a little more time on this game, it could be much better(They did the Ghostbusters Video Game, so I think they could do better than this)

29. F.3.A.R.(PC) - February 20th- Time: 5.8hrs
Uh, what game is this? because it certainly isn't F.E.A.R.
It plays more like Call of Duty: Modern WarF.E.A.R. than anything else.

Having a two weapon limit is really annoying, especially since F.E.A.R. 2 let you carry 4 weapons at once.

30. Strider(2014)(PC) - February 22nd- Time: 6.2hrs

Wow, Double Helix is on a roll right now, first Killer Instinct and now this? Considering they made some pretty awful games in the past I'm amazed at how good their new games are.

31. Mega Man 2(3DS) - February 23rd- Time: 2hrs
First ever Mega Man game I've finished, i've never been a big fan of the Blue Bomber, I watched the Anime growing up occasionally, but I never really got into the games.

But I'm glad I gave this game a shot as it is very fun.

32. Liberation Maiden(3DS) - February 23rd- Time: 1.5hrs
As a left hander, trying to play this game made my hands cramp right up.
Although I did finish it in a single sitting, so the game is pretty enjoyable even if it does give me hand cramps.

33. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell(PC) - February 25th- Time: 8.8hrs
Pretty fun game, a bit basic but overall pretty enjoyable.
Cutscenes are really ugly though, yikes.

34. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory(PC) - Februray 28th- Time: 8.6hrs
THIS is a damn fun game.
The stealth mechanics are great, and the writing is awesome, the characters alternate between serious and joking very well.

I particularly enjoy the bickering between Anna and Sam about how old Sam is.

March

35. The Walking Dead: Season 2 - Episode 1(PC) - March 6th- Time: 90m
No comments because I don't want to accidentally spoil anything in this game.

36. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent(PC) - March 7th- Time: 6.9hrs
Sam Fisher gets much improved jumping abilities in this game because he managed to jump way over a shark.
Game crashes a lot and is overall a bad port(game was made with gamepads in mind, but doesn't support any gamepads on PC)

37. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction(PC) - March 7th- Time: 4.8
The presentation and graphics are a lot better in this game than they have been in previous Splinter Cell games, and Sam Fisher is a lot more agile(despite being like 50 now) it's basically Assassin's Creed movement put into a Splinter Cell game, and I quite like that.

Shooting is way easier now, you don't have to wait for your crosshairs to line up and if you melee kill someone you can instantly take down two+ bad guys at once with a few button pushes, it's kind of crazy.

38. The Walking Dead: Season 2 - Episode 2(PC) - March 9th- Time: 130m
No comments because I don't want to accidentally spoil anything in this game.

39. InJustice: Gods Among Us(WiiU) - March 10th- Time: 3.4hrs
My favourite game on the WiiU, no doubt about it.
InJustice really is a fun game, I'll probably replay it again on PS3, may as well, I love the feel of the combat.

40. Vanquish(PS3) - March 16th- Time: 4hrs 15m
Wow, this is really fun.
The boost slide mechanic and the melee attacks are incredibly fun, It's a very enjoyable game that's surprisingly well animated.

41. Resident Evil 4: Ultimate HD Edition(PC) - March 22nd -:Time: 11.9hrs
Pretty enjoyable game, and it's the third Resident Evil game I've finished...ever!(not include replays, because then it's the 4th one I've finished) although the mouse controls make it a bit easier than I think the developers intended it to be, I was shooting arrows out of the air pretty consistently, made me feel pretty good.
Also screw QTEs, I spent more time on the intro to the

Spoiler

Krauser

fight where you're hitting each other with knives than the actual fight, ugh, QTEs annoy me.

42. Prince of Perisa: The Forgotten Sands(Wii) - March 26th -Time: 7hrs 36m
Very fun game, and it has a lot of room for imagination since you can create a lot of your own pathways, with the ability to create a whirlwind on the ground, a hook on the wall or a bubble in mid air, the amount of ways to traverse through an area is crazy.
Definitely recommend this, and I really recommend it over the HD version of The Forgotten Sands(This version has more colours than just brown! !!!)

43. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands(PS3) - March 29th -Time: 5.5hrs(est.)
I managed to blast through this since I had already finished it twice on the PC version last year so the game was still very fresh in my memory.

I actually ended up platinuming this game as well, it's my first platinum on my new PSN account, so that's cool(The process of getting the platinum took me around 10 hours and a bit, it's not a very challenging platinum)


44. Catherine(PS3) - March 31st -Time: 12.5hrs
I decided to buy this game after watching a let's play of it by BrainScratchComms and they made it look very interesting and I thought it was going to be pretty standard stuff as far as discussions of relationships go, but man, this game is crazy.

It's also the first Atlus game I've finished(I got the normal lover ending if anyone is curious)

I was afraid I wouldn't be able to finish this game before March ends, but thankfully I did and it's the 10th game I've finished this month now, yay!

April

45. Lollipop Chainsaw(PS3) - April 1st - Time: 2.8hrs(Used time played from leaderboards section and added them up)

It was an okay game, it played like a 3D beat 'em up game, so that was interesting, but I was hoping for a bit more depth to the combat.

The writing is rather funny at times, the boyfriend as the straight-man to Juliet's insanity always made me chuckle, I didn't really like the random taunts that the enemies had though, those just seemed weird(stuff like "LET US FUCK YOUR DAD, JULIET" is just...odd)

46. Driver San Francisco(PC) - April 7th - Time: 6.1hrs

I'm normally not that into driving games, but the charm of this game really sucked me in.
It's like Quantum Leap meets Starsky and Hutch meets Burnout(Takedown + Paradise)

The ability to hop in and out of cars at will helps keep the flow of the game going, instead of crashing into a wall, having to reverse and then slowly accelerating again, you just crash into a wall and then hop into a Ferrari or something, it really helps speed everything up.

Definitely would recommend if you're on the lookout for a fun little arcade racer game(although the physics of the cars are a bit wonky, they take some getting used to)

47. Resident Evil 6(PC) - April 12th - Time: 18.3hrs

I have to admit, I am not a fan of this game and it's overall design.
I played through most of it single player and so whenever I wanted to get a move on and leave an area only to be told I must wait for my partner to come along so we can knock down a door, I just groaned.

in 4 if I wanted to leave an area I didn't have to wait for my partner and I preferred that, 5 had the same problem but I think the amount of times you had to wait at a door for your partner were much less so I didn't see it as big of a problem then.

The shooting and stuff is okay, but I had to force myself to finish this game since I bet my friend I would when he said I wouldn't.

48. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon(PC) April 14th - Time: 3hrs 22m(Started in 2013)

Short game, I spent a lot of time doing side quests, I liberated all the garrisons, I got pretty close to max rank but still pretty short.

Overall it was a decently enjoyable game, two things bug me though
1) Why is there a weird purple haze around everything? makes it a lot more difficult to enjoy the view.

2) Why is this game rated R18+? Apparently it's because of the high impact sex scene, but there's only one sex scene in the game and it's done using cutscenes that you'd see on the SNES, so that's...weird.

49. Sonic Rush(NDS) - April 14th - Time: 5hrs 2m
See Sonic Run.
The final boss was a real pain and I had to actually lower the difficulty to easy mode in order to actually complete the game, the rest of the game was kinda interesting though, I had never played this game before so it's cool to play the game which the boost mechanic came from since it has become such a large part of Modern Sonic nowadays.

Although you can tell this is the first use of the boost mechanic in a Sonic game since it's much more limited in this game than it is in the later titles it's used in(no mid air boost and such)

50. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker(PS3)[ - April 16th - Time: 18.5hrs
This is the second Metal Gear Solid game that I've finished(first being MGS3) and while it was fun, I didn't like a few elements, the fact that the game was intended for portable devices really hurts the flow of the game with LOTS of breaks in the action that are "to be continued in the next mission" which get really annoying when I'm playing it on a console and intend to play for a couple of hours.

Another thing that bugged me was the fact that I had to grind at times in order to unlock a higher level weapon because otherwise certain missions were basically impossible

Spoiler

(Peace Walker Fight 2)

at least it was solo, I couldn't connect with anyone longer than a few seconds to try out the multiplayer so I can't comment on if that makes it any better, but yeah having to grind for 2 hrs to get R&D leveled up, no thanks.

51. Assassin's Creed: Revelations(PC) - April 20th - Time: 8.3hrs
It was a pretty fun game, seems like a natural evolution of AssBro's mechanics which were a natural evolution of AssCreed2's mechanics, it's definitely very safe with the craziest thing they've added being the ability to create bombs.

Oh well, I still enjoyed the climbing gameplay as the city in AssRev was very nicely detailed and well designed for quick travel(lots of fast travel areas and lots of ziplines)

52. The Last of Us(PS3) - April 21st -Time Taken: 10hrs 7m

And The Last of Us, is the Last of the 52 games 1 year challenge for me.
I don't think I need to even mention how good this game is, very great game and I'm glad I finally got around to finishing it.

53. The Walking Dead: 400 Days(PC) - April 27th - Time Taken: 1.4hrs
First time playing through this, very interesting choices they have you make, I think I'll replay through Season 1 and 400 Days and the current episodes of Season 2.

Actually I probably won't since that's a lot of game time, but I'd like to do it one day, maybe after TWD S2 is released and has been out for a while.

Games 1-53
Games 54-81
Games 82-112
Games 113-119

 

[Yasawas]

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.

Original post.

 

[Lemstar]

21: The Swapper (PC) - 4h (03/16/14 - 03/17/14)

Really easy. Atmosphere and music and sound were cool enough, I suppose.

 

[Frologic]

Just going to list what games I beat so far this year as a mental note and edit this.

January (including late December)

Brothers: A tale of two sons.
Beyond Good and Evil. I fucking love this game. That is all.
The Stanley Parable.
Metro 2033. The surface is one of most engaging moments in gaming for me. Stalker and Metro are kings of atmosphere.
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance.
Lost Planet
FEAR Extraction Point
Doom. With brutal doom. Metal as fuck.
Papo and Yo. Really poignant story, I want to play more games like this.
Shatter

February

None, mostly multiplayer, Banished (34 hours in one week, yikes) and Dark Souls (I will beat you before DS2 PC!!)

March

Prince of Persia (2009). So what if it's incredibly easy, it's gorgeous.
Metroid Prime. I'm not used to the backtracking in Metroid games so this was actually really frustrating. Not an easy game either.
Digital: A love story. I think I'm in love with visual novels now.
Currently Playing The Cat Lady

My computer can handle dolphin so if anybody has any gamecube hidden gem recs (preferably shorter games), that would be great. I didn't play a lot of gamecube games growing up, other than the big stuff like Mario Sunshine and the Zelda games.

 

[Dusk Golem]

I've been posting a lot of LTTP threads, but so far the games I have finished.

72 (Horror Game)
Akemi-Tan (Horror Game)
Binary Domain
BioShock Infinite
Blue Stinger
Deep Fear
F.E.A.R. 3 (again, did it with a friend who's blind, but my fourth time)
Galerians
Forest of the Drizzling Rain
Koudelka
Kuon
Master Reboot
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Resident Evil: Code Veronica X
Resident Evil: Dead Aim
Resident Evil Zero
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Spec-Ops: The Line
Toilet in Wonderland
Townlore


Games I am on my way to finishing and already most of the way through:

BlackSoul Extended Edition
CSI: Hard Evidence
Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut
Typing of the Dead: Overkill
Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

Want to write more write-ups soon, and post some I wrote elsewhere here too.

 

[Dusk Golem]

I just finished Divinity 2: Developer's Cut. I've slogged through a lot of lifeless side content in RPGs before deciding to perfect my build rather than do a second more of them. This is not one of those games. I went looking for every single thing I could find. What an amusing game.

The "dungeons" are like little caves with a few forks and usually packed with just enough enemies that you're bored by the end. It isn't as bad as the first Divinity, though, not by far. I recall what I played of the Xbox version of this game was even more terrible on this front as well, so I guess the Developer's Cut fixed some of the pacing issues.

This was a pretty damn long game, but I already did a few short games as a break from this one about every 10 hours, so I'm probably going to start up something else long. I'm not entirely sure I'm tired of this universe yet; maybe Dragon Commander is next?

How does this work? I'm really interested in accessibility solutions for games. Every so often I think about ways to make games with just sound.

Oh, I said that wrong, I meant he was blind to the game, not blind as in blind. I've never played with someone who's blind, but I have a friend who had to get surgery when young to remove his arm, but he's a fairly avid gamer but only plays with one arm as that's all he's got.

 

[StingX2]

Game 17: Super Fantasy Zone - 2 Hours
(Started 3/18/14 / Finished 3/18/14)
Very interesting shmup that isn't scrolling but has a set amount of space with enemies and spawners. You have to break the spawners and then fight the boss of each level. Upgrades are handled by a shop that appears when you enter a stage or die. Laser + Quarter Missile = best combo by far. Only a few bosses are really a pain thankfully.

Original Post

 

[Weiss]

Game 16: Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - 50 hours

This was straight up one of the best RPGs I've played in years. The combat is much improved over Nocturne, it's a lot more accessible, the story is great and pokes holes into a lot of game tropes we hold for granted, the soundtrack kicks ass, and the Junkyard is a well designed post apocalyptic wasteland, really feeling like a dark, wretched, hollow place filled with violence.

Most of all, I really loved the characters, seeing them discover emotion over the course of the game was one of the most interesting methods of character development I've seen in a game, since, as a pack of total blank slates, their characters literally are developing as they experience emotion. It's a rare case of a justified instance of flat, stereotypical characters working so incredibly well (see: every JRPG with the token emotionless robot girl or something).

I guess my only gripe would be that, compared to Nocturne the level of customization isn't as grand so your characters end up being forced into specific roles. It actually feels like a more traditional RPG this way, which still isn't bad. I ended up liking it a lot more than Nocturne, and I can't wait to start DDS2.

 

[Krafter]

Original Post updated

Finished a couple of handheld games (one 3DS, one Vita) to reach the 20 games mark. Lots of hockey games during the NHLs stretch run means I should make some headway on that front, watching & playing at the same time. I perpetually have 1 game each going on the DS, 3DS, PSP and Vita. Finish one, start a new one, rinse, repeat.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

Finished Game #11!

Sleeping Dogs

Attention Steam Library Dwellers, it's time to wake up that dog that has curled up deep within your game collection. Not only does it have Steam Cards, it's also one of the surprisingly good games I've played recently. Yes, you could almost say this was a... sleeper hit.

OK, so that's hopefully got the terrible puns out of the way, now we can get to the crux of the matter. Sleeping Dogs is a game that deserves your attention; while it might be a new IP name wise, it has a storied history as 'True Crime'. However, due to rising costs Activision sold the rights to Square Enix who rebranded the game as 'Sleeping Dogs'. So yes it's 'new', but it comes with the benefits and years of experience built up from the previous True Crime games - perfect!
The game is an Open-World Sandbox game - think Grand Theft Auto x Saints Row.

Sleeping Dogs takes what I liked about GTA and what I liked about Saints Row and manages to meld them together into a game that has it's own unique qualities too. This perfect blend comes together to form a really unique and fun sandbox experience. The story is dark, based around an undercover police officer who is trying to destablise and expose the Triad groups in Hong Kong (think Infernal Affairs); the action is fast and frantic, like a John Woo movie; while there is a very refreshing melee element thrown in. It's the melee/Martial Arts element of the game that really allows Sleeping Dogs to stand tall on it's own merits, and not avoids being labeled as 'just another GTA clone'.

In fact the combat not allows this game to stand on it's own feet, but manages to propel it above GTA and Saints Row. The gunplay has refreshing, as it's not thrown down your throat at every turn and mission. Your mean weapons are fists and your fury, and melee weapons - yes melee weapons! Meat Cleavers, Swords, Batons, etc are all at your disposal, but it's the environment that will be your biggest weapon. Sure you can kick and punch through the Triad Forces like a young Bruce Lee, but it's when you turn your attentions to the walls, the fuse boxes and other nasty everyday objects that are in the world that you become a bad ass Jackie Chan. Grab the enemy and run towards the wall? Ram the guy's head into the wall. Run towards a dumpster? Throw that guy into the dumbster!! Run towards meat hooks... well I'll let you find out...

I was honestly surprised at how fun the combat was, it wasn't as mindless as some GTA games where you seemingly have an arsenal of weapons to use at any given time. It wasn't as endless as Saints Row where mobs just keep coming. It had the ideal balance between mobs and user abilities. Sometimes frustratingly you notice that it's always 1v1 in melee combat, despite several other bad guys standing around waiting for you to stop being attacked by their fellow goon - yet this seemed strangely fitting for the Kung Fu/Martial Arts tribute Sleeping Dogs manages to deliver on so many levels. However, if there is a sequal it would be nice to see Square Enix throw in multi-mob counters and combat ala The Batman: Arkham series.
Yet, you shouldn't dismiss the gun battles entirely either, as they're intense and just as fun. There's a nice nod to 'John Woo' with the addition of 'Slow Motion' gunplay when you vault out of cover, which can create some fantastic 'holy shit' moments within the game as you clear a room with headshots and 'reactions'.

There are a few minor complaints I had about Sleeping Dogs, but none of them are gamebreaking and once you adapt to the game mechanics seem almost trivial. The driving can take some getting used to, and is perhaps the one area of the game that could do with a lot of TLC in any possible sequel. It's not terrible, just at times it feels as if your cars can't turn correctly, and it doesn't distract from some exciting highway chases and car chase/gun fights.
Besides the Radio Stations are immense and contain some fantastic tracks to listen to and select for your driving madness.

Visually the game is immense (if you download the free HD Textures map) and makes you wonder (at time of writing) why Watchdogs can't hit the same heights on PC (hopefully it will). When the rain falls and the city lights reflect on the wet film spread across the road, as you drive through the streets of Hong Kong you realise you're inside a wonderful looking gameworld. This game looks better than any GTA has managed to achieve to date on retail release. There are times when the shadows look a little goofy, and the blood splatters can almost become Splatterhouse-esque, but it doesn't distract too much from what is a wonderful looking game and world.

Overall Sleeping Dogs manages to put together a great Sandbox game that pulls together infleunces from a range of sources - GTA, Saints Row, Asian Cinema. Yet, it seems to have went largely unnoticed, even 2 years after it's release I'm talking to people who haven't played the game or even heard of it. Those who have played seem to love it, and I can't blame them now that I've joined them.
Sleeping Dogs will provide you with ~15 hours of gameplay, with a rich story driven experience that has a very strong combat base to carry the action along. If you're a fan of Asian Cinema then you'll be in fanboy heaven as the nods and tributes appear throughout the game. If you're not a fan of Asian Cinema then I'd like to suggest you watch the following movies either before or after playing the game: Infernal Affairs, Police Story, The Raid.

Sleeping Dogs - A surprisingly good game.

 

[Ceallach]

Game #18 Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon because I DON'T KNOW!
Steam, 26 hours.
This game gets a bad rap because I DON'T KNOW! I played with my kids and it was a lot of fun, lots of references and callbacks to the series. Fun hack and slash gameplay, and you keep unlocking new characters and NPCs through the entire game, had a ton of fun.

 

[Rubius]

Game 11 : The Legend of Zelda : Wind Waker HD - 33 hours

Went for a couple of side missions and explored the world. Was the first time that I finished the game alone without a friend around. Really good, but I think it might be the hardest game of the series to get 100% at with all the little thing you can miss.

 

[StingX2]

Game 18: Deadpool -7 Hours
(Started 2/15/14 / Finished 3/18/14)
So I'll be frank, this is one of the WORST game I've ever played and I've beaten Yaris. Here is the crazy thing though, Deadpool has some of the funniest cutscenes and best writing I've seen in the comedy department in years. I know the whole 60% metacritic scandal but the fact is this game would have been so much better as something similiar to Asura's Wrath, that not really a game genre. It is great to watch and murder to play. I must have died hundreds of times in badly checkpointed sections until I just ran past enemies for the next checkpoint. Another favorite of mine is the game telling you to do something but the game makes it impossible to navigate and figure out where you are going. I have not been so frustrated with a game in years.

Original post

 

[Sendou]

Updates (go to the actual post to see a screenshot or two):

Weeks gone 11. Games beaten 12. I'll try to include a screenshot I have taken by myself if it's easily supported in the game I'm playing.

My Backloggery.

Game 1: Portal 2 - 21 hours according to Steam which may or may not be accurate.
# I had played the singleplayer a year or two ago. Now I finally got around playing the co-op (shoutouts to Burnburn). Absolutely stellar game. I will probably try the user made content next but for now I'm considering this game beaten since I have beaten Valve's content.

Game 2: Super Mario 3D World - 41 hours 43 minutes according to Wii U logs. It's accurate but also contains some idling.
# Completed it 100%. All stamps (which includes completing each level with all characters), all green stars and all golden flagpoles. A really fun game! EAD Tokyo still has it. At first I was slightly negative about the game but it grew on me the more I played. The last level was really hard and took me between 200 and 300 tries.

Game 3: The Last of Us - No idea how long it took.
# Completed on normal without using the listening mode. Impactful game to say at least. I just want to see a day where a video game of this scale can tell a powerful story without adding a massacre to the mix. Presentation of this title was just outstanding. Gameplay wasn't bad either it just wasn't as good.

Game 4: Cook, Serve, Delicious! - 30 hours according to Steam.
# Good game. Considering it beaten now that I have a 5-star restaurant, extra challenges done (except the very last), all foods bought and upgraded and all equipment purchases (not counting the very last few or even one from ClickStarter). Remaining content including the final renovation would just include too much grinding and I don't find it one. I already saw most of the content of the game. I enjoyed the game. Really a quality title even if a little repetitive. There's just something fundamentally satisfying about the gameplay. Of course we never have enough food related video games.

Game 5: Gone Home - 6 hours according to Steam
# Played the game once through and second time with the developer commentary. I really enjoyed the experience. It tries something different and I think it works. Developer's commentary was nice too. What I didn't find nice were numerous bugs which in an experience as short and controlled as this are unacceptable in my opinion.

Game 6: Fez - 15 hours according to Steam. At least 7 hours of that is idling.
# Reached credits. I gotta love this game for what it is. That being the case even if it isn't really for me. That cryptology stuff just isn't what I'm looking from my games. That said the easy half of he puzzles I beat I enjoyed. Presentation is just outstanding too.

Game 7: Shin Megami Tensei IV - 59 hours 42 minutes including idling
# Got the Law ending on Prentice difficulty (lowered the difficulty to Fellow for final boss just because it was a pain in the ass and I didn't feel like grinding). Completed a good amount of side quests too but not everything. More in the beginning than towards the end. I feel pretty torn about the game. On the other hand I feel like it's a solid package. OST deserves an extra mention. It's just spectacular. Then there are the parts I didn't enjoy. The developers really seem to love that certain trial & error gameplay. There is a lot of that in this game. The game is very confusing too. I had to refer to a FAQ for more than once. They don't do a very good job of explaining where is that certain Japanese sounding place you need to go. For having low production values (2D sprites heavily used etc.) the price is high. In summarision I'm glad it's over. Now I only need to play Kid Icarus and I have beaten all of my 3DS retail games. Too bad it's region locked and I can't therefore use my XL.

Game 8: OlliOlli - No idea how long it took.
# Beaten every stage (both amateur and pro) with the exception of one challenge that is just too impossible for me to waste more time trying to complete it. Got 9 trophies out of 12. This is actually a pretty nice game. It's just as addicting as everyone says. Too bad about the missing leaderboards. I could have easily seen many extra hours in front of me if only it had them. Also several technical problems like rather frequent crashes are really unfortunate. Behind all this is yet another brilliant indie title for Vita that I can really recommend for everyone if the core concept seems even distantly appealing.



Game 9: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - 4 hours according to Steam
# Beaten the game and got all 12 achievements. Such a nice game. I think the developers nailed the feeling of an adventure with this game. Even more so than some top dogs in this industry with hundreds of millions dollars budgets to back them. The gameplay isn't really challenging at all but I didn't mind this. I have to give extra credit for creating a story and a world that greatly gains influences from Scandinavian nature and folklore. I think that part is what took this game to the next level for me personally. Below is one of the numerous breathtaking vistas in this game.



Game 10: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - No idea how long it took. Around 10 hours would be my guess.

# Probably my favorite game I have played this year so far. I feel like the game loans just enough from 999 and Ace Attorney without feeling like a copycat. In addition it also adds so much to the mix that it's hard not to give credit for it. It has this sort of very surreal style going for it. Everything is just twisted and in a good way. The dialogue made me laugh out loud more than once. Characters (with few notable exceptions) are either likeable or interesting in other ways. Ending left you with more questions than answers but luckily they are also bringing the sequel to the west. Gameplay feels lacking from time to time but not enough to pull you from the story. Monokuma is one of the finest characters of its kind in video games ever. Puhuhuhuhu.



Game 11: South Park: The Stick of Truth - No idea how long it took (Steam says 26 hours but that includes a lot of idling. Maybe half of that)

# Beaten on hardcore. Missed two sidequests and bunch of collectables. I was disappointed with this game. The South Park part of this game is awesome. I'm not a huge follower of the show so I missed most of the references but besides that it's genuinely one of the funniest games I have played. As a game though? It's mediocre or even bad. They obviously tried to rip off Paper Mario but they didn't really find any success with that at all. The game is extremely easy even on the hardest difficulty they offer and gameplay is just so shallow. Comparing it to Paper Mario: TTYD makes Stick of Truth look very bad. Beyond that it's rather light on content as a RPG (but I don't think I could have stomached any more of the gameplay it offers). Still I don't have any grave regrets. It's a funny game. I enjoyed it as a South Park episode. I just won't be there on day 1 for sequel if it gets one.



Game 12: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 33 hours 17 minutes according to Wii U's Daily Log which is pretty damn accurate.
# Every level beaten with all KONG letters and puzzle pieces. Also I did

Spoiler

close to half of the levels on hard mode collection all blue KONG letters

(light spoilers about end-game content). Such a fun game. Retro Studios really is a splendid developer. I had high expectations for this title but they managed to exceed all of them. Getting David Wise to do the OST for this game was just the thing to do. Music together with extremely nice environmental art really brings this game alive. Attention to detail is just incredible. Beyond that gameplay was just as honed as it was in DKCR. Even more so at times. There's some small trial & error but nothing that would threaten to kill the experience. So yeah I was very pleased with this game and I'm already looking forward to what they might be doing next.



Next up: NES Remix, Persona 4 Arena, Bravely Default and Broken Age part 1.

 

[Twentytwo2277]

Game 14: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes [PS4] 1:25

Overall I had a decent time with the game, it's obviously short for the price but it's a nice taste of next gen and whats to come with Phantom Pain. I think I mostly liked the fact I had something to play on PS4, maybe if this came out at a different time I would have been annoyed or disappointed but I was ok with what it delivered.

Updated

 

[GazzaScotland]

Nearly half way there, Titanfall has bit into my playtime a fair bit.

Game 21: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - 7.1 Hours
Always wanted to play this even though I never had any real care for Warhammer as a whole. Pretty fun game that does some nice things but nothing spectacular.

Game 22: The Walking Dead Season 2: Episode 2 - 1.8 Hours
One of my favourites episodes so far, really enjoyed it but won't say much more due to spoilers and what not.

Game 23: South Park: The Stick of Truth - 12.2 Hours
Wow, I had my doubts about this but it was fantastic. Felt just like one long episode of South Park. If you have any love for South Park, this game needs to be played.

Game 24: Dark Souls - 26 Hours (Plus a fair bit when Steam was down)
I really wish I had got on this game earlier, from watching streams/speed runs and what not I pretty much knew everything that was coming. Still, good to get it off the list because its a fantastic game, will be on the second from day one on PC.

Original Post: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97786265&postcount=488

 

[Rubius]

Game 12 : Batman : Arkham Origins - 19 hours

The story is pretty good and the game is like every other Arkham games, but it's buggier. I wanted to 100% it, but I got a bug on one of the tower and could not desactivate the electric fence for some reason. So that kind of put me down from finishing the rest of the stuff since I wont be able to go see Enigma any way.

 

[Yuripaw]

Haven't been on gaf in a while, but I was here today so I felt it was a good time to update my games.

Game 9 - Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 3/16/2014
- I don't know…I don't feel completely unsatisfied, but I do feel underwealmed. As a game, it is really barebones feeling with main story content feeling real slim. The combat is kinda fun, but I think I actually prefered the old battle system of 13, and 13-2. It felt difficult to find schemata sets that worked, and the differences between the many outfits didn't really seem signifigant. Just eye candy. Visually it looks nice in some spots, but probably the weakest production of all the FF13 games. Ending is real nice, and some of the main cutscenes are alright, but overall there's a lot of poor ones. Lightning looks great, and so do the other main characters, but that's it. The enviorments are not that different, and they aren't that big even compared to 13-2 I feel. The game is full of side quests of unimportant characters, and not enough of the main ones. The main quests that are there...are alright. Nothing that great though, and no real revelations happened to me until near the end. I kinda liked the crazy ending, but it's kinda weird. The way some final fantasy games go off the deep end with their logic bothers me sometimes, and it did a little in this one...but after all the happened in the series, I just went with it I guess.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 10 - South Park: The Stick of Truth - PC - 3/17/2014
-Funny game, and good mechanics. Simple to play, and not real difficult or very long for an RPG, but an enjoyable experience. Most of the references were still easy to pick up even though I hadn't watched the show much. Not especially difficult may be a flaw, but it made for a fun play either way. Looks just like the show which is still cool.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 11 - Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - Xbox One - 3/18/2014
-Well as said by many others before I had a chance to play, it is very short, but does seem designed with replayability in mind. For those like me who love Metal Gear for their story, it's really frustrating that it provides so little, and is mainly a teaser long in advance for the upcoming The Phantom Pain which is still more than a year away (at least). Having said that, the new game mechanics, and new engine I think runs top notch. The game is gorgeous on any platform I think, and it's fun exploring the world that there is. I want to play it more, but my overall opinion on it is 50/50. Great game, but too short. I should be mad about spending $30 for it, but it's hard to stay mad when it's nice to have that taste of Metal Gear Solid V this soon.

Original Post: will update this as well

 

[Bii]

I'm falling behind on my pace. I went through a stretch where I wasn't finishing any games for about a month straight. I'm back on track now since I just knocked Titanfall down. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be played at the end of the month and will be on my list soon.

Game 14: Titanfall (PC) - 6.0 hours played
# Completed the campaign as the Militia and IMC. Titanfall may just become my go-to game for the next few months since matches last anywhere from 10-15 minutes each. I'm sure I'll pour more hours into the game but I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

Original post with past games: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=95490358&postcount=198

 

[Ceallach]

Game #19 - Scribblenauts Unmasked. PC 13 Hours. Completed the main storyline, and dicked around alot. Fun game. Scribblenauts premise is showing its age though

 

[Lemstar]

22: Contrast (PS4) - 3h (03/20/14)

The shadow mechanic and manipulation of light sources and such were cool, but the game really didn't do much to explore the design space, sadly.

 

[donny2112]

22: Contrast (PS4) - 3h (03/20/14)

The shadow mechanic and manipulation of light sources and such were cool, but the game really didn't do much to explore the design space, sadly.

Don't know how Contrast plays, but Closure is a puzzle-platformer based on light/shadows that definitely does some cool stuff with the mechanic. May want to try that out.

 

[tav7623]

Status Update 2

I just reached the halfway point of the challenge, finishing my 26th game (Little Big Planet) today, which is also the 7th game I've finished this month. You can view the list of games I've finished so far as part of the challenge as well as my brief thoughts about them here.

 

[AdventureMike]

Game 7: Mega man - 2 hours

Played this on the anniversary edition on the PS2. Game is still hard as all hell even today. I believe the PS2 feels like it has input lag sometimes but that may have been just the game. I haven't busted out my cartridge copy in awhile.

Main Post Link

 

[Ceallach]

Game #20 Dragon's Crown. PS3. Not sure on the time, but it's been in increments since late last year. I enjoy it a lot. Not sure how well it did, but a fun couch coop game I hope gets a third game or at least a translation of Princess Crown.

 

[model13]

Man, I don't think I've beaten 52 games in my lifetime. Good luck to everyone trying this!

 

[The Illiterati]

31. Ghost Trick
Wonderful game. Wish there was a sequel. Though the end areas got a little bit too finicky for me.


32. Thief (4) - 23 hours
I just finished this game and I have a mouth and I WANT TO SCREAM!
Okay, I've put HUNDREDS for hours into Thief 1 and 2(including fan missions). This game is such a mixed bag. I actually loved the City sections and doing all the side missions. I need to look into whether this game will ever be moddable, because I think the core of it is actually not so bad. I don't mind the lack of jump at all. I don't mind the slight change in rope arrows(basically they were only useful occasionally anyways in the old games). Love the graphics, hate the character design. Gimme back my Hammerites. Give it to the fans and you would have something great. The majority of the stealth in the main missions however, is utterly terrible. Maybe it is my fault for playing on Master, considering I have been playing the others for so long, but the guard setups are terrible and would often get stuck in positions and out of their patrols where I couldn't get them. Ghosting would be nigh impossible, IMO. And those last two chapters are disgustingly terrible, some of the worst gameplay I've ever experienced. Such a slog, I quit even stealing, just trying to get through the gauntlets of guards.

It was worth my time for the simplicity of the side missions, but I despise so much else about it. I'm such a huge Thief fan that I can't help but enjoy the glimmers of nostalgia.

 

[Lindsay]

.hack//Infections been beat! Skeith is no pushover even at near max level! Still an exciting adventure 11 years later!



Games Beaten: 13 / 52
Total Playtime: 124 hours, 10 minutes

link!

 

[AdventureMike]

Game 8: Mega man 2 - 2 hours

Played this on the anniversary edition on the PS2. This one I've beaten on several occasions and just happened to be in the way of me completing my way through Mega Man Anniversary edition. The game is still one of my favorite Mega Man games and still holds up today. Great music, solid gameplay and just plain fun.

Game 9: Mega man 3 - 3 hours

Played this on the anniversary edition on the PS2. My personal favorite Mega Man game. The music is fucking amazing. I love the bosses and I just think it is the most solid of the NES games. It's also just about as hard as the first game to me with all of the twists and turns like needing to beat all of the robot masters from Mega Man 2 as well as the normal Wily stages.


Main Post Link

 

[Lemstar]

23: Infamous: Second Son (PS4) - 8h (03/21/14 - 03/22/14)

Story is a snoozefest. Blowing things up with superpowers felt appropriately superheroic. Particle effects looked great.

I would strongly recommend against buying a PS4 just to play it, though.

 

[Hubb]

10) Brothers:A tale of 2 sons 3H

I'm not sure I am making 52 games this year. I have been putting a lot of time into multiplayer games with my friends which is destroying my backlog time. Oh well, I am interested to see where I end up by the end.

 

[Rubius]

Game 13 : Deadlight - 3:10 - 24/04/14

A pretty okay platformer with good controls, but it's pretty buggy where some animation glitch or you cant pick up some items for some reasons. Pretty short and end with a rough cut, but it was fun.

 

[Jack Videogames]

South Park: The Stick of Truth - 11:09 hours
Well. The best way to define this game is like a fried chicken meal - you think it's going to be gross, greasy, short, bad and unsatisfying, and it's gross, greasy, average-length, good and surprisingly satisfying. The combat mechanics are great, the story is really engaging (though I liked the first half of the game, before

Spoiler

shit got real

, better) and it's fun for both fans of the show and neophytes. The only thing I didn't like is that boss fights were usually much easier than some regular enemies - dire wolves kicked my ass more than anything else in the game.

Updated original post

 

[okayfrog]

10) Brothers:A tale of 2 sons 3H

I'm not sure I am making 52 games this year. I have been putting a lot of time into multiplayer games with my friends which is destroying my backlog time. Oh well, I am interested to see where I end up by the end.

10 in almost three months time is pretty good pace. Not on pace exactly (would be 13 or so by the end of the week), but 52 games is still very possible.

 

[Jack Videogames]

Pokemon Black - 35:11 hours
Today has been a good day, two games in a row and both RPGs! I think Pokemon Black is my favourite main entry storywise - and save for disasters like Vanilluxe or Trubbish, I ended liking the designs as well. The main game felt a bit short and rushed and I'm not keen on going into the postgame this time, mostly because I feel Pokemon Black 2 will act as a postgame of sorts.

Updated original post

 

[Twentytwo2277]

Game 15: Infamous: Second Son [PS4] ~12hours (doesn't actually say).

Holy shit I'm having a great time playing this game, it's gonna be my second platinum trophy in a few hours here. Loved the next gen taste I'm getting from this, games plays so damn smooth and looks crisp as hell. Looking forward to the sales numbers and hoping they're up there. Can't wait for more of the series and I didn't even like the first two games.

Updated post.

 

[StingX2]

Game 19: Thomas Was Alone - 5 Hours
(Started 3/23/14 / Finished 3/24/14)
Puzzle platformers and me have a rough history, this game was no different in some aspects. The limitations set on characters during stages annoy me as do repeated mechanics over and over and over. What I do like about this game is that each character had their own talents and the mix of stages made that easier to stand. Something as simple as having a powerless character in a freefall stage is refreshing. Storywise this game is brilliant and frightening when you piece it all together. The narration of each character is great and oddly gives personalities to a bunch of colored rectangles. Worth playing indeed.

Original Post

 

[Burnburn]

Game #11: MDK - 3 hours

I enjoyed it, not really much to say about the game. Apparently it was pretty groundbreaking for it's time, but now it obviously isn't and won't have an impact on me. Had to mess around with the controls for a good hour before playing, the way the PC controls work are so weird. Wish it was a little longer, because I really were enjoying it.
7/10

Previously on Burnburn's backlog

 

[donny2112]

Games 1-25 (Hit the character limit for the post.)
Games 26-42 (Hit the character limit for the post.)

Game 43 (Mar. 14, 2014): Castlevania (NES, 3DS VC) - 1:45
Save stated that thing a lot. Funny that I don't recall it being that difficult. Also funny that the last bit of the final level didn't seem that familiar. Know I played it back in the day, but now I'm wondering if I ever beat it or just rage quit and left it be.
Know I beat Castlevania III straight up back in the day, as I recall that one and the final boss very clearly. Looking forward to that coming out on 3DS. Looking forward to the GBA Castlevanias on Wii U, too (at least Aria, which is the only one I played on the GBA).

Game 44 (Mar. 15, 2014): Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (GCN) - 4-5 hours
Started this when I was initially fed up with DKCR3D, since I wanted to be reminded of a good DK platformer. First game by Tokyo EAD who went on to make the SMGalaxy games, and the quality shows. Whereas DKCR3D hates for you to get into a rhythm and kills you if you try, this game encourages getting into a rhythm and making massive combos to boost your score. It even shows you video hints on how to boost your combo/score even more after each level. Basically the forerunner of the Master vids for NSMB Wii. Love this game. If you can get to a pair of bongos and GCN/Wii to play it, do. Wii version kills the bongos, which killed any interest for me. Platforming with bongos is an experience! Well worth the effort to track the full setup down.

Game 45 (Mar. 16, 2014): Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (GBA, 3DS VC) - 11:38
Started this when it came out on Ambassador, but didn't "get" it. Just kept going around in circles in the same area, so just quit. Having now gone through a lot more Kirby games, this one is still an oddball. It's nothing like the other Kirby's I've played in structure. It's essentially a big exploration game where you have to just go to every room and find all these exits, and oh by the way, Kirby's there and so are his traditional enemies/abilities. Definitely not a Metroidvania, as the abilities are there from the get-go. Is a big-time exploration game. Would've liked it more if there were less enemies in my exploration game, but it wasn't too bad in the end. Guess would have to call it a grinder, since you're just going to each level and trudging through to just find all the rooms exits again and again. Final boss was typically for a Kirby game ridiculously hard with several successive fights. Still a jarring contrast to the rest of the main game. Not too difficult with a lot of lives and figuring out the shortest way to kill it each time. Still a jarring experience, though. Decent timewaster for GBA, but of the Kirbys, still think Dreamland 2 is the best of what I've played (single-player). Still playing through Return to Dreamland, though, so we'll see how that one finishes.
Glad they put this on the Ambassador list. Never played it on GBA (as didn't really play Kirby then) so good to go back to it. Thumbs are soar after all these 2-D games. Nintendo thumb returns! :lol

Game 46 (Mar. 17, 2014): Tomb Raider: Legend (360) - 9:17
Probably a little higher with the reloading saves, but that's close enough. Wow. This was some game. Love the fact that this is the same engine as Tomb Raider: Anniversary and the Croft Manor was real similar (made getting around easier there). Story was great

Spoiler

Mommy!

, and stoked to get to the last game in this trilogy. Realized while playing that this means Tomb Raider was rebooted twice this gen. Just shows how stinking long this last gen was! :lol Got all the Bronze/Silver/Gold items and 100%'d the game, as well, though, that was due to the Rewards Location Guide. Still a very fun exploration game and having enjoyed Anniversary made this game all the better for fun!
On a personal note, this is the game that got me to a 10,000 Gamerscore. Heard of many others with 100K and of course, the million guy, but this is a big milestone for me, at least.

Game 47 (Mar. 18, 2014): Breath of Death VII (PC) - ~5:15
DQ-type of game with lots of game humor, fast random battles (most can be beaten by just tapping the A button rapidly, but some non-boss battles require more strategy, too), run button, and ends just as it's getting a little monotonous. Wonderful design for a game! There's post-game content, but if it's anything like non-DQIX post-game content, it'd require tons of grinding. As indicated by my comments throughout these games, that's not what I'm looking for here. Very nice game, though, and recommended for some old-school DQ fans. Thinking about it, don't think I needed to grind through here, though exploring the tunnels probably served that purpose as it increased the number of battles. It didn't require any going out of the way to get to, though, so it was good.
Got this a long time ago when PAOTRSPODEp3 released, and having done a bit with PA3, think it was good to finish this one before really delving into that one, as it looks to be a similar gameplay style.

Game 48 (Mar. 20, 2014): Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (PC) - ~3:45
This is not a particularly well-made game. It's clearly a port from tablet/touchscreen-only world, which isn't bad in and of itself, but the combat, as limited as it is, is hampered heavily my being touch driven. It uses on-screen "buttons" to control guarding and attacking, which is expected in touchscreen-only world, but should've been instantly traded out for better controls when buttons became available. The on-screen "buttons" themselves are also right next to each other and even seem to overlap slightly making it more important to ensure your mouse doesn't slide from one to the other while focusing somewhere else like on the enemy's attack. Reasonably, this greatly limits the combat variety and results in the combat being basically throwaway. The graphics are a pixelated look, and whereas NES/pixel art is perfectly fine with me, this is just plain ugly. It also doesn't look like they went the pixel route for any artistic reason, so instead it just comes across as laziness. Like they took a drab and bland regular backdrop, figured that wouldn't fly, so ran it through a cheap pixelator to jump on the retro bandwagon. In short, they don't do anything interesing with the graphics, and it's just ugly to look at, in my opinion. Story-wise, it's kind of a minor story that's more than a little confusing. Reminds me of some 60s/70s movies that you watch and you're sure there was some reason for it to be made, but you just can't seem to "get" what was really worth making a movie out of it for. Guess that's due to lack of production values (including art direction)? Oh, well. It was cheap (on-sale) and fairly short, so at least it didn't cost too much in either time or money, so that's a plus!

Spoiler

Game 49 (Mar. 21, 2014): Castlevania: The Adventure (GB, 3DS VC) - 1:23
Fun Castlevania parts mixed with precision, no mistakes, no hesitation, know where to not get all the items deathplay. :lol Save states made this game somewhat fun instead of the likely nightmare if played on the original system for the first time now. :lol Read that Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is really good, so looking forward to that hopefully coming out on 3DS VC, too!

Game 50 (Mar. 25, 2014): DuckTales: Remastered (360) - 3:23
I loved this game. Watched the show everyday after school, and this was like watching another cartoon episode. WayForward really went the extra mile to get the original voice cast (makes a huge difference for this fan of the original cartoon) and made the characters look just like the show, too. Never played this on NES, so this is my first experience with it and loved it. I actually smiled during the final boss battle. Haven't done that in a long time. Hope WayForward gets the opportunity to do more of these revivals, because this one was ACE!

Game 51 (Mar. 25, 2014): Lilly Looking Through (PC) - 2:45
Okay, short little game. Obviously sets up for a sequel, so hope the sequel makes a few changes. 1) Move faster. If you're making us do trial-and-error gameplay, don't take 5-10 seconds between actions. 2) Make puzzles a little move obvious/hints a little more useful. It was fine to have it this way for the first foray into this world, but the next needs more play-testing to more clearly identify where the next even possible step is. On the plus side, graphics are very appealing as is the music. Care about the brother/sister bond, so that helps me care about the game, too. Story through gameplay is almost always nice, and this one takes care of that well.
One more to go to reach 52! Figure maybe doing another 25 or so after that this year would almost clear out my backlog. Looking good!

Game 52 (Mar. 26, 2014): Thomas Was Alone (PC) - ~4:30
What a wonderful game to hit #52 on. Caring about the lives and fates of rectangles has never been so poignant. Helped along by the Portal 2 vibe I kept getting. Was a different voice actor for the narrator here than Wheatley in Portal 2, but still kept getting flashbacks to it. Other Portal nods during the game helped that feeling keep going. Graphics were functional with some nice occassional effects. Music was perfect. Relaxed puzzle platformer with a touching story crossing love, self-sacrifice, caring, betrayal, and just deserts. All from various forms of rectangles. Amazing. :lol
Will keep going from here, but it's nice to get #52 out of the way. Will shoot for another 25, and see where that leaves the (wonderfully dwindling) backlog.

Stats from first 52 games
# of games replayed on original system - 2
# of games replayed on Nintendo VC - 3
# of games completed for the first time - 47

System Breakdown
360 - 15
PC - 15
3DS - 12
WII - 5
NES - 3
GCN - 1
SNES - 1

# of hours played - ~356 hours (not counting Costume Quest DLC)

Game 53 (Mar. 30, 2014): Clu Clu Land (NES, 3DS VC) - 1:42
Played this game for the first time on Animal Crossing with the NES games included with that game. Thought it was an interesting way to play to wrap your head around controls, so jumped on this to play with save states on the 3DS VC to have an easier time completing it. As a puzzle game, it doesn't have a firm "end," but this particular puzzle game has 20 puzzles before it starts repeating with much harder conditions, so I'm good stopping after that. You have to uncover gold coins to form a hidden picture/pattern on the screen all while avoiding traps and enemies that you have some means to destroy (but it's not simple to do so). The big problem is that it also has hidden rubber walls that bounce you back, so you're heading somewhere with a plan in mind, and then you're suddenly bounced back at the enemy behind you! :lol It can get very hectic with the fast moving character changing directions rapidly, so very glad for save states here.
Last year, this would've gone on a "to get at some point" list, but with the reduction in backlog was able to justify jumping on this when it came out on 3DS VC. Nice!

Game 54 (Apr. 6, 2014): Penny-Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 + Prequel DLC (PC) - 9 hours
Definitely glad to have played Breath of Death VII from the same developer before this game. Made sliding into playing this one a breeze. Story is as out-there as the first 2, and looking forward to finishing it all up with Episode 4. The twist with

Spoiler

Claire-Anne in the Periphery to seed the new Universe after its destruction

was very neat, though missed

Spoiler

having her as part of the team

. Were those the developers playing NPC parts in the game?!? :lol For the DLC prequel, would've been nice if they could've searched for previous save data to provide an actual face for your avatar from the first two games instead of

Spoiler

playing from inside a sack

, but it was fun to attack with rakes again. The Classes hearkening back to Penny-Arcade/the first two episodes was nice, too.

Game 55 (Apr. 13, 2014): Super Metroid (SNES, Wii U VC) - 6:56 (2:23 game clock)
Have played this game many times before and love it. Separately, I had gotten under three hours and 100% before, but for this run, followed a guide to get both 100% and under three hours. Man, I was getting "late" items so early this way! Great fun, and if you can access Miiverse, you can go through my Super Metroid posts, as I screenshoted about all my favorite points. My Miiverse posts were like a love letter to this wonderful game. Still the best game every made in my opinion.

Game 56 (Apr. 15, 2014): Wario Land 2 (GBC, 3DS VC) - 16:45
I was so sure it was going to say I had been playing this game for like 7 hours despite feeling like this game had taken forever to 100%, so was very relieved to see that I wasn't just imagining this game taking a stinking long time! :lol Great game! See where a lot of the pedigree of Wario Land 4 (Ambassador game) came from! Being a GBColor game was nice, too. Lots of secrets, multiple endings, obviously many hours of gameplay, if you want to 100% it (just beating it the first time was just under half the total levels, so there's a lot to do and discover after "beating" it once!). Puzzle platformer once again. Seem to have done a lot of those in this Beat52GamesIn2014 Challenge! Very much recommended.
Pace has slowed down, but still playing lots of games. Very nice this year.

Game 57 (Apr. 17, 2014): Cthulhu Saves the World (PC) - ~7.5 hours
I liked this game. RPG with pre-defined limits on random encounters in dungeons meaning that after a point, you can explore as much as you want without more random encounters. Interesting evolvement of Cthulhu from god of Insanity trying to destroy the world to world hero. Liked the Director's Cut comments in the game as well, since it gave more background. Also wasn't too long for an RPG. Good little game. Would suggest having an option to pre-program the first round of attacks for enemies, as I'd normally do the same commands for the first round over and over, and then adjust from there, though.
I like gaming.

Game 58 (April 21, 2014): Lunar Flight (PC) - ~10 hours
This game is a simulation, so it doesn't really have an "end." However with achievements that sort marks off the "done most everything to do" checkbox to consider the game complete. As the name probably gives away, this is a sim of flying lunar landers on the Moon. (There's also an additional Mars level that's a bugger!) Quiet, considered actions are the name of the game. Rapid twitch stuff gets you killed. :lol Fun execution for momentum aware players as they transport cargo, find lost cargo and return to another base with it, and perform "go here and come back" survey missions. If you want a more difficult experience, try the cockpit view that means you're essentially flying instruments only most of the time (particularly on Mars

Spoiler

when massive dust storms block all visibility in a hilly terrain!

). Not too bad if you're used to flying otherwise, but still takes some getting used to. It's more authentic to the way the real Moon astronauts had to go, though. Fun simulation-type game without being too overly into details. Recommended if you're into space and want to try out traversing area on the Moon!
Did NOT expect to spend this much time with the game, but the "quiet, considered actions" sure do take a while to pull off! :lol

Game 59 (Apr. 23, 2014): Rusty's Real Deal Baseball (3DS) - 10:49
This is the follow-on to Wii Sports Baseball U that they kept showing on Wii U demo reels, I think. It even has the "move the system around to catch the ball" play in it. For gameplay, this is all individual trainings in almost every aspect of baseball (hitting, fielding, throwing, umpiring, making bats). If you've played Wii Sports passed the main game in each sport, you've played similar type trainings in that game. It's broken apart into 25 Basic and 25 Advanced trainings per Baseball focus area (5 sub-types x 5 difficulties in each type). For "beating" this arcade style game, I cleared all the Basic Trainings across every game available, including all the purchased ones (if you haggle well, the whole game costs $16, which is well worth the cost for a baseball fan, I feel). There were some frustrating moments, usually when trying for Gold medal results on a level, but overall, it was an incredibly enjoyable experience for this lover of baseball! The fielding especially really makes you focus on predicting where the balls going and getting a good first step, just like in reality. In fact I appreciated the fielding so much, that I played and beat every Advanced training on it, too! There's also a side-story, which in typical Nintendo fashion, plays second-fiddle to the trainings but is still engaging in its own right. In short, get this game. It's free to play the first few hitting trainings, and after all is said and done with the haggling, the full experience is $16 for a ton of fun gameplay, if you like baseball!

Game 60 (Apr. 26, 2014): Quest for Camelot (GBC) - ~5 hours
Watched the movie again recently and recalled that I had the GBC game and think I enjoyed it. It's a perfectly serviceable game. Not fancy, a bit like many old games where it requires you to be careful to seldom get hit as hearts aren't plentiful. Very colorful, and really shows off the GBC improvement over the GameBoy. Not so big a deal now but very nice for then. Not sure if I ever beat it at the time it came out. The next to final boss seemed familiar, but it has been a long time. Apparently it has GBPrinter support, too, but never had one of those. The cut-scene pictures between levels were very nicely drawn, though, so can see why you'd want to print them out yourself.
Game clock said 4 hours, but it doesn't count dying and reloading your last save times

Spoiler

nor the final boss fights

.

Game 61 (May 2, 2014): Super Mario Bros. 2 (The Lost Levels) (NES, 3DS VC) - 8:04
This game lives up to its reputation for being hard! The levels of blind jumps, precision launches (and landings), and downright luck (for randomized elements) is crazy. Save states again save the day for this one. The only drawback would be that you still have to make the jumps correctly once, which is often easier said than done. :lol Very fun game. Saw levels 9-1 through 9-4 (and then saw them again), which you have to play through all 32 levels without continuing to see (thank you, save states!). Saw A-1 through D-4, which you have to beat 8-4 eight times to access (thank you, warp pipes!). Also a bit outside of the game itself, I'm loving Miiverse communities on these 3DS/Wii U games. Can really get a view on how other gamers perceive these levels and where they get stuck/have fun, and that's a blast to experience, as well. Recall seeing the A-D levels before (from either All-Stars or SMBDX), but don't think I've seen World 9 before. Nice! Fun game to play with save states!

Game 62 (May 2, 2014): Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 (PC) - ~10 hours
I may be one of the few to have played through all four episodes of the Penny-Arcade games, but I have to say, I enjoyed them. The logistically-required twist in the middle of the episodes to Zeboyd Games's RPG style kept the gameplay from getting to stale/clicky, and the story just kept trudging along. Like the ending a lot. Big twist with Tycho over the course of the four episodes as you find you he's serious about his plans. Having played Cthulhu and Breath of Death VII prior, the gameplay was second nature, and I'd welcome more games in this style from Zeboyd. I like 'em! Helps to like Penny-Arcade, or you'll just be hating the characters, though. Hestia is something else. Glad it's

Spoiler

Anne-Claire that makes it to the end.

Wow, finished the whole Penny-Arcade series of games. Was so excited for these when they were first announced, and then it went into development limbo after the first two games. So glad Zeboyd finished them, and that Zeboyd was such a fun developer to fit with Penny-Arcade's brand of humor. What a match! ;P

Game 63 (May 4, 2014): New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) - 20:33
Man, that game took a while! I think this game might've been rushed to meet the Wii U launch, as some of the later levels felt unnecessarily harsh, which is not something Nintendo usually puts in the regular Super Mario Bros. levels. Feel like those could've been made less severe with some more time to release. On the bright side, the Superstar Road levels were refreshingly fun and not at all the torture fest I was expecting from the "final" levels in the game! Comparitively, I like Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii (the fan-made one, not the 2009 Wii one) better overall than this game, but those Superstar levels were really something special. Some nice Nintendo magic in those. With this being released at the beginning of the Wii U's gen, would start to hope that a second one may come out for the system, but with the sales in the gutter, probably best to put the next one on the next system. (Gives more time to polish it, too, if they realize NSMBU needed more work. )
When this year started, had just gotten a Wii U for Christmas, so there wasn't much of a backlog on the system. Now five months into the year and with the prospect of Mario Kart 8 taking a ton of my upcoming time with the system, starting to build a noticeable backlog there, too. :lol

Games 64-81
Games 82-92
Games 93-111
Games 112-127

 

[Rubius]

(Wanted to wait till a new page, since it's less scrolling to find post to update.)

Damn. At this rate you could do a 200 game challenge for this year.

 

[Weiss]

Holy crap, dude. You're a machine.