Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
Thanks for the perfectly timed post, Jive Turkey. I was about to update but didn't want to double post.
That's what I'm here for!
Thanks for the perfectly timed post, Jive Turkey. I was about to update but didn't want to double post.
So what are the plans for the new year? Is this thread wiped and everyone starts out at zero again in a new thread?
Will there be a leaderboard for top performers? Perhaps bottom performers as well if we're feeling extra devilish?
Anyway, here's where I'm at right now:
Thanks... I borrowed the idea from archnemesis. I've been starting to lose focus a bit. Hopefully I'll get back on track this weekend.Always dig your visual charting of your backlog, gonna do this next year.
I think Sound Shapes is great (certain songs are mindblowing). And the platinum can be very tricky, because the death mode is just luck (and a lot of patience).@arukoda, what did you think of sound shapes? I am not to into platformers but it has a weird appeal to me. Also, was the platinum very difficult?
^^^ THIIIIIISSS ISSS AWEESOOMMMEE!!! YOU SIR ARE KILLING IT! I don't know if I mentioned this previously, but I love the design.
Oh wow thanks so much mate You have no idea how nervous it gets showing this stuff haha.
I know one guy here was interested in statistics, so I've been putting a lot of effort into that, there will be clean, dynamic graphs and charts, showing things like: Games completed over selected time period, money spent on specific consoles, time spent on specific consoles, games owned vs games completed, and plenty more. I can't show any designs for that stuff yet, it's really difficult to make so much information simple and intuitive to navigate.
Thanks again for the praise!
Three Atelier games in a single month? That's impressive!
Is it that bad? I'm playing it right now, and I'm done with the first two worlds. Got all the Electoons and the Skull Teeth. Not going for medals/trophies, though. If I happen to get them along the way, fine, but I'm not going out of my way to platinum this thing.Rayman Origins is beat. I liked this game, but I wanted to love it. The 1st third is a little too easy and has just a little creativity. The middle third was great! The last third relied too much on trial and error gameplay (and this is coming from a guy who loves 'Splosion Man!), plus minor imperfections in the precision made way for frustration. I'm like 50 lums away from unlocking the Land of the Livid Dead world and I say no thanks. I've had my fill and then some.
Haha! I dropped my controller on my first time through there. Needless to say, it kept me on my toes from that point forward.I would highly recommend playing with the volume up a lot extra(I won't lie,I was scared shitless the first time one of the rock creatures rose from the ground near me was not expecting that
Haha! I dropped my controller on my first time through there. Needless to say, it kept me on my toes from that point forward.
THORES YOU NAIVE FOOLBecause of the (probable) small amount of game purchases, I can dedicate September more to beating games than buying them. Here's hoping I'm back in the positive by October.
Is it that bad? I'm playing it right now, and I'm done with the first two worlds. Got all the Electoons and the Skull Teeth. Not going for medals/trophies, though. If I happen to get them along the way, fine, but I'm not going out of my way to platinum this thing.
The Google Play 25-cent sale hurt, but it did make my line look like a cat.
Is it that bad? I'm playing it right now, and I'm done with the first two worlds. Got all the Electoons and the Skull Teeth. Not going for medals/trophies, though. If I happen to get them along the way, fine, but I'm not going out of my way to platinum this thing.
Yeah, they're games I've spent money on and played/finished, so I'm counting them. I'm not counting stuff I got for free, though, regardless of console/platform.I'm surprised you even count mobile games.
Yeah, I tend to lag behind a year or so on games... more so on genres that aren't my favorites. I've had Borderlands sitting in Steam since it went on sale for like $7 a while ago, but just hadn't gotten around to it until recently (when everyone else was playing BL2). I'm only level 7 at the moment, but I'm pretty impressed with it. Very different than what I was expecting (in a good way), and the overall style is really nice.And Ghibli, are you playing Borderlands in leu of 2 coming out and wanting to play that first?
{2º} means that it is the 2nd time i beat the game (so it doesn't count as backlog).Hey Arukado, what does {2º} mean in your list?
Gears 3 is the culmination of a series that, in some ways, defines this generation of consoles; The (still great) graphics, the over-the-top gore, the cover mechanic, the emphasis on co-op (Horde and Beast modes), and a satisfying competitive multiplayer mode. The console gaming market would probably be different today if Gears 1 didnt become such a massive success back in 2006.
Gears of War 3 concludes the trilogy begun 5yrs before, and may just be EPIC Games best title yet. The game is one of the most feature-rich titles out there, with 4 player campaign co-op (that includes an Arcade mode where you can enable fun mutators), Horde and Beast modes, and the standard competitive multiplayer flare (with the Party System!). While Gears 3 may not sway those who didnt like prequels, there is much to love here for fans of the series.
LOVED
4 Player Bangin: Im a huge fan of co-op, and was very happy when EPIC announced Gears 3 would (finally) have 4 player co-op, since there were almost always 4 characters in the squad in Gears 1 & 2. Everything works as expected, and its great fun when you have a group of 4 together.
Let Them Come!: First introduced in Gears 2, the Horde Mode has been expanded with tower defense mechanics, and even mutators to increase the craziness. (Insane difficulty is now doable with mutators) Many hours can be spent on Horde mode alone, and much fun can be had. In my view, Horde mode is the co-op experience of this generation.
Focused Development: Gears 3 is a prime example of what can be achieved when a developer focuses on a single platform (ie, 1st Party) over the span of 3 games. EPIC delivered a game that looks, runs, and sounds as good as any game on X360/PS3, is feature-rich, and even has dedicated servers for multiplayer. Microsoft needs to secure more 3rd party deals like this if they dont plan to beef up their 1st part portfolio.
Dedication: EPIC learned from their Gears 2 launch blunder, and brought it for Gears 3. The netcode is improved, but best of all are the dedicated servers for MP. You dont always play on dedi servers, though. But overall, Gears 3 is a smooth experience online.
RAAM It: The first (and only?) campaign DLC is a step back in time when Gears 1s villain, General RAAM, is in his prime, ready to fuck some humans up. You split time playing as RAAM tearing through humans and new (and some old) COG soldiers in what turns out to be an entertaining romp that gives a glimpse of what direction the Gears franchise may head in the future.
Stoppin & Poppin: Love or hate it, the Gears series has its own distinct gameplay style. And EPIC refined & polished this formula to a nice shine for Gears 3. Your characters arent as sticky when he/she comes near a wall. The result is a more fluid sense of gameplay.
HATED
S.O.S.: At launch and for a few months after, the sawed-off shotgun was overpowered, leading to abuse in multiplayer. The blast radius was simply too wide. This wasnt game-breaking, but very disappointing considering Gears 3 had a public beta that shouldve caught this problem. To EPICs credit, they nerfed the SOS in an update, bringing weapon balance back to the game.
Reap What You Sow: Regardless of whether is EPICs or Microsofts fault (or both), Gears 3 is a prime example of anti-consumer practices being adopted across the industry. Retailer-exclusive preorder bonuses, paid weapon-skin DLC, and (for some) Season Pass. Its unfortunate.
CONCLUSION
Gears 3 in many ways encapsulates the current generation of console gaming with its feature-rich offering; 4 player online co-op, Players vs AI Horde and Beast co-op modes, the always-appreciated Party System, and 10 player multiplayer. The game does not shy away from its over-the-top action & gore heritage, either. EPICs Unreal Engine 3 has been refined to near-perfection, and the game looks and performs exceptional. This game is a showcase of the X360s potential.
On the other hand, Gears 3 also highlights the negative trends the gaming industry is heading towards with retailer-exclusive DLC and weapon & character skins paid DLC. But at least those were cosmetic DLC.
SCORE: 9.5 / 10.0
TIME PLAYED: Over 50hrs
ACHIEVEMENT DETAIL: 1150 / 1250
NOTE: This is a review includes the free Extended Cut DLC for the ending.
Mass Effect 3 concludes one of the most ambitious gaming endeavors yet. The premise was that your decisions/actions in ME1 would carry over to ME2, and again from ME2 over to ME3. While this is all true to an extent, this vision was not fully realized.
Still, ME3 is an enjoyable experience, made even better if you played both ME1 and ME2. Story/companion arcs, inter-species conflicts, and even romantic relationships come to a head in this game. ME3 is the payoff for all the work youve done in the previous 2 games.
BioWare even introduced a new co-op mode in Galaxy at War, which is fantastic if youre a co-op fan. A group of 4 players take on 10 waves of enemies. Theres a good selection of character classes, weapons, and biotic powers to choose from. Matches dont take long (about 30 minutes at max), and this mode is a good training ground for the campaign.
LOVED
The Shepard Chronicles: Space Jesus returns for one final outing. If youre invested in your Shepard, then ME3 gives you the closure youve been looking for, but you need to download the Extended Cut DLC first (shame it had to be that way). I was disappointed with some decisions the writer(s) made, but ultimately, I was satisfied with the ending. It was, however, awesome to see how your decisions in ME1 & ME2 affected the outcome of ME3. I hope more devs do this next gen.
War, Everywhere: The new Galaxy at War co-op mode is just a blast. Being a huge co-op fan, I put in over 30hrs into GaW before even starting the campaign. The mode is a great way to experiment with the various character classes you may not have otherwise.
Its Unreal: Like EPIC Games and Gears 3, this is the third round BioWare has had with UE3 and Mass Effect, and its a noticeable improvement. The game looks and performs better than ever. This is also evident by how fluid the combat is compared to the prequel. ME3 does not shy away from being an Action RPG.
HATED
Wheres My Crew?: In ME2, you spent nearly the entire game gathering a loyal crew if you wanted the best ending (I did). All of that is thrown away at the beginning of ME3. Your loyal crew is now scattered across the galaxy, doing their own thing. I really like the crew in ME2, and was disappointed BioWare went this route.
A Proper Ending: While the Extended Cut DLC was sorely needed, its a damn shame BioWare had to do it in the first place. The whole scenario just screams laziness. But to be fair, the DLC really does give the game a proper ending with the more detailed explanations.
Whos That?: While the issue was correct later with a patch, if you played ME3 at/near launch, then you had to recreate your Shepard if you had a custom guy/gal. For a series that trumpeted importing your save files from each game, this issue was inexcusable.
CONCLUSION
The Mass Effect trilogy began with so much promise that it was a bit heartbreaking to find out how much of a mess the campaign was at launch. Upon boot-up, you couldnt import your custom Shepard, your loyal crew from ME2 was nowhere to be found, and the ending reeked of laziness with how open-ended it was. Thankfully, BioWare corrected these issue, but for some, it was too little, too late.
The best surprise for me was the new Galaxy at War co-op mode. I got to play with character classed I wouldve never tried if not for this mode. The matches dont take long, and BioWare supported this mode with free DLC for a while.
ME3 was a bit difficult for me to score. I was (very) disappointed is some decisions BioWare made, but in the end I still played the game for over 50hrs, and Ill probably do the DLC later on.
SCORE: 9.0 / 10.0
TIME PLAYED: Over 60hrs
ACHIEVEMENT DETAIL: 850 / 1250
Bayonetta is what I like to refer to as a Gamers game. The story doesnt make any sense, the action is absurd, and there are plenty of boss battles. Its a throwback to the early days of gaming.
This a game for gamers who enjoy a challenge, and like to see crazy stuff on screen.
LOVED
Lady Ninja Gaiden: Fast paced, over the top action that rewards practice. That is what defines Bayonetta, and her Ninja Gaiden lineage. The game can be a sight to behold if youre able to master her skillset.
Its Japanese: Bayonetta is unapologetically Japanese. From how Bayonetta herself is designed, to the bosses she fights, to the nonsensical story, this game is just outright crazy. Just roll with it because the gameplay is indeed fun and challenging.
Its a Video Game: Platinum Games doesnt try to pretend Bayonetta is anything other than a video game. Characters with guns on their feet, characters walking on walls, tons of gore, and theres even bosses with upside down baby faces. Its a video game, alright, and theres no shame in it.
HATED
Its Japanese: Its no surprise why Bayonetta wasnt a commercial success in the Western markets. Bayonetta herself is over-the-top sexy, and some of her moves are nearly cringe inducing. The enemy designs are outlandish and sometimes its hard to make out what a boss is (upside down baby face, really?).
It's a Video Game: Repeating boss battles, difficulty spikes, the story is hard to follow, and the voice acting is downright terrible. It's a good thing the game doesn't take itself seriously.
CONCLUSION
Bayonetta harkens back to the days when games didnt take themselves too seriously, and were all about crazy, over-the-top fun. If you can handle a heavy dose of Japanese aesthetics, then theres plenty of fun to be had. Just make sure to equip the sword once you obtain it.
SCORE: 8.0 / 10.0
TIME PLAYED: About 12hrs
ACHIEVEMENT DETAIL: 440 / 1000