Games Beaten 2015

Post by **Luke** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 1:50 pm

prfsnl_gmr wrote:Also, like Killer 7, it kind of sucks.

This is a point that should be well taken.

Post by **nullPointer** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 1:56 pm

prfsnl_gmr wrote:
Luke wrote:Golgo 13 is kind of like the NES version of Killer 7. It's all over the place as far as gameplay, is quite erratic, and a good break from the norm. Even the box art is neat.

Also, like Killer 7, it kind of sucks.

Dat music though. It's fantastic. I really think Golgo 13 one of the hidden musical gems in the NES library.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQyfv_r ... 716C0DEA91
Also ... it wins for best sideburns appearing in an NES title.

Post by **Gamerforlife** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 1:18 am

This is now my favorite warriors/musou game

Post by **MrPopo** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 3:34 am

First 50:

51. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - PC
52. Starflight - PC
53. Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast
54. Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 - PC
55. Super Star Wars - SNES
56. Shadowrun: Hong Kong - PC
57. Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel - PC
58. The Catacomb - PC
59. Azure Striker Gunvolt - 3DS
60. Mighty Gunvolt - 3DS
61. Catacomb Abyss - PC
62. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - PC
63. Strike Suit Zero - Director's Cut - PC
64. Wolfenstein 3D Spear of Destiny - PC
65. StarCraft - PC
66. Metal Storm - NES
67. Septerra Core - PC
68. Metal Warriors - SNES
69. Zelda II - The Adventure of Link - NES
70. Anachronox - PC
71. Faxanadu - NES
72. Adventures of Lolo - NES
73. Ninja Gaiden 2 - NES
74. Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming - PC

When it came out I snagged Half Minute Hero on the PSP. It sounded like it had a fun premise and I wasn't disappointed. Rather than being an RPG the game is more of a puzzler that utilizes RPG conventions. You get 30 seconds to beat a level or the boss blows up the world with his magic spell. To aid the player you get super speed (to blow through encounters and move around) and the ability to rewind time for the cost of gold. The general flow is to grind monsters until you are strong enough to beat the boss (which the game is nice enough to explicitly tell you when it happens). However, there is a practical limit to how high you can get due to the ever increasing gold cost to turn back time. Additionally, the levels like to include a variety of obstacles between you and the boss, and that's where the puzzle aspect comes in. None of them are ever challenging, and it mostly comes down to time management and taking appropriate risks.

The original game included three other game modes to keep things fresh. One was a shmup, one was an RTS, and one was you needing to protect your charge. They all involved the 30 second gimmick, which makes them all pretty easy to pick up and play. The Second Coming instead ditches the extra modes in favor of having a deeper story. Now, the story is never earth shattering, but it does give more context as to why there's so many bosses and why you have to murder them all. The levels themselves I think also get a bit more interesting. That said, it really is a case of if you enjoyed the first you'll enjoy the sequel, and if you didn't you won't.

Post by **noiseredux** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 7:52 am

1. Beavis And Butt-Head In Virtual Stupidity (PC)
2. Renegade Ops (PC)
3. Arena Of Octos (Apple II)
4. Beauty And The Beast (Intellivision)
5. Chivalry (Apple II)
6. Donald Duck's Playground (C64)
7. Left 4 Dead (PC)
8. Left 4 Dead 2 (PC)
9. Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered (PC)
10. Forward To The Sky (PC)
11. Elevator Action (MSX)
12. Quake (PC)
13: Talisman: Digital Edition (PC)
14: Dead Or Alive 5 Last Round (PC)
15. Dragon Age Origins (PC)
16. Hearthstone (Android)
17. Toren (PC)
18. The Great Giana Sisters (Amiga)
19. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (PC)
20. Lego Jurassic Park (PC)
21. Borderlands The Pre-Sequel (PC)
22. Cities Skylines (PC)
23. Borderlands The Pre-Sequel: Claptastic Voyage (PC)
24. Her Story (PC)
25. Hearthstone: Curse Of Naxxramus (PC)
26. Half-Life 2 (PC)
27. 9:05 (PC)
28. Mercenary Kings (PC)

Like Ack said some pages ago, Mercenary Kings is a lot like Metal Slug 1st Mission. A lot. But with co-op. It looks fantastic. It has music both awesome and annoying. And... it just goes on for too long. I enjoyed this one, but I would given up on it hours ago had it not been for my buds.

Post by **Sload Soap** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 2:41 am

And with that my Metal Gear marathon is done. Some brief thoughts.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (Xbox 360)

Metal Gear 2 is a weird game and probably my least favourite in the series. It's not bad at all and in some instances is disarmingly forward thinking but it is also beholden to a lot of plain irritating gameplay design (that swamp) which kind of muted the accomplishments elsewhere. For an early nineties MSX2 game it is mighty impressive but as a Metal Gear game all the quirks and innovations kind of rub up badly against the basic game design of its predecessor.

Metal Gear Solid (PS1)

Metal Gear Solid is still a stone cold classic and as far as the series goes only recently surpassed. Every single part of it is etched onto my memory, every part is so well known and remembered it's become part of the texture of the medium. I think it's also the only time that the story and gameplay were in perfect balance with each other. Yeah the stealth is actually pretty terrible but it still feels so fresh. The art direction is incredible, there are moments of genuine emotion and you generally get pulled into this outlandish and kind of campy world that's like James Bond crossed with anime. It's full of little quirks and tricks and I think it's one of the more replayable games of its era. Really, along with Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy VII I see it as one of the games that really shaped the destiny of the Sony gaming brand and therefore gaming on the whole.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Xbox 360)

MGS2 however is a mostly decent game before a last act curtain pull turns it into an extraordinary one. I hadn't played this game in more than a decade and it was the title I was least looking forward to playing as part of this marathon. Pleasingly I did rather enjoy it overall. Obviously what gets people talking these days is that final chapter but I found the rest of the game pretty agreeable as well. Some of the stuff I recalled being my bugbears with the game such as the bomb disposal and underwater section really weren't all that bad. And I like Raiden. It's funny how, for a guy who eventually becomes a superhero cyborg, he's probably the most human character in these games. There's all this madness going on around him and he essentially cannot handle it. It's a shame then that Kojima kind of decided to retcon the ending to MGS2 (which is kind of fair enough) to give Raiden a schmaltzy happy ending in MGS4.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)

Ah yes, MGS4. I'm glad I've played it (and I absolutely tore through it) but it is definitely one of weaker entries in the series. It's not even just down the the excessive length of the cutscenes or the many bizarre attempts at humour (monkeys and poop) or romance (Hal getting his heart broke by someone he only just met again, the WTF Meryl and Johnny Sasaki wedding). It's the fact that the gameplay is actually very good but its many interesting facets are sidelined while the plot is pushing Snake and Ocelot into that climatic fist fight. There's some great stuff early on when you are required to sneak through an citywide battle, the Octocamo is a really cool and well thought out tool and there are moments when the nostalgia for the past that the game is drenched in actually hits home. There's some very silly but hugely enjoyable sections (Rex vs Ray) that really get you pumped up for the finale.

Unfortunately there are also times when that apparent need to tie-up every plot point, to have every character have their moment as well as spotlight, including those who don't deserve it like Vamp, as well as the new characters means that the game runs close to being a 50/50 split of gameplay to cutscene. I'm not even joking. It results in a situation where you are in control of Snake for as long as you would be in say MGS2 or 3 but with an additional 4-5 hours of cutscenes or mission briefings or codec calls on top of those games already lengthy intermissions. MGS4 wants to simultaneously be a sequel to all of the three prior MGS games regardless of the timeline and spends so much time explaining things from those titles and spinning more plates than it can keep its eyes on, it often loses track of itself in the process. That said, the CQC bro-hug is pretty cool though. Manly tears.

I have to say though overall Metal Gear is one of the more consistently high quality long running series I've ever played, especially considering some of the risks it has taken along the way. The nine canon games (with the exception of Ground Zeroes) all manage to be unique both from a gameplay perspective and a storytelling one, while also keeping the core themes and sneaking gameplay as the groundwork.

It all comes back to one man: Hideo Kojima, one of gaming's few true auteurs. He took what could have been a reasonably good but pretty generic stealth action series, spiced it up with some world building, some fourth-wall breaking playfulness, some downright weirdness and created a franchise that is truly memorable while also fully utilizing the medium to tell its story. I used to think Kojima was someone who seemed like he'd be more comfortable making movies than games, but now I see Metal Gear wouldn't work as anything but a game. Think of Psycho Mantis reading your memory card, or Big Boss telling you to "turn your MSX off now", or Snake telling Raiden he has "infinite ammo" while pointing at his headband. None of these moments, the ones that really stick with you would work outside of the medium. Truly a wonderful series. Shame we'll probably never get that WW2 set MGS where you play as the Boss.

Anyway, here is my pointless and subjective order of preference for the series.

Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid
Snake Eater
Peace Walker
Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear
Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear 2
Ground Zeroes

Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 (Xbox One)

I also played Pro Evo 2016. It's not as good as last year. That is all.

Post by **laurenhiya21** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 3:08 am

1/10: Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery EP (Steam)
1/10: Rusty's Real Deal Baseball: Bat & Switch (3DS DL)
1/11: Time Fcuk (Steam)
1/11: Coil (Steam)
1/17: Portal 2 (Steam)
1/31: Tales of Xillia (PS3) (re-beat 3/31)
2/12: Tokyo Jungle (PSN)
2/22: LoZ: Four Swords Anniversary Edition (3DS DL)
4/25: Stanley Parable (Steam)
4/28: BattleBlock Theatre (Steam)
5/3: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
5/9: Excite Truck (Wii)
5/14: Elebits (Wii)
5/26: Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (DS)
6/9: Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PSN)
6/11: Tappingo (3DS DL)
6/15: Galaga Legions DX (PSN)
6/22: Eversion (Steam)
6/25: Hatoful Boyfriend (GOG)
6/30: Silent Hill (PS1)
7/1: SteamWorld Dig (Steam)
7/12: Cook, Serve, Delicious! (Steam)
7/13: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni - Ch.1 Onikakushi (Steam)
7/14: Retro/Grade (Steam)
8/12: Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (PS4)
8/15: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Steam)
8/25: Ziggurat (Steam)
9/11: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita)
9/25: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Steam)
9/27: Freedom Planet (GOG)
9/27: Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Rise of the Owlverlord (GOG)
10/15: Mad Maestro! (PS2)
10/16: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Total: 34 games

Ah I really need to remember to update more often

Freedom Planet

Rise of the Owlverlord

Mad Maestro!

Uncharted 2

Post by **Gamerforlife** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 6:25 am

I didn't say much about Dragon Quest Heroes in my last post. Here is one of the few times I feel a review accurately sums up my thoughts so I'll post it.

http://www.thejimquisition.com/2015/10/ ... ow-review/

Possibly the best, or at least in the top 5, warriors game I've played. Certainly the most unique, the most polished (in game instructions with pictures and actual in game trophy rewards), and also has the best bosses of any warriors game...by far. I think I'd actually rate this higher than Hyrule Warriors. I think pairing up warriors style games with long running gaming franchises actually brings the best out of these games. It forces the devs to be much more creative with the warriors formula

Post by **MrPopo** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:10 pm

First 50:

51. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - PC
52. Starflight - PC
53. Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast
54. Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 - PC
55. Super Star Wars - SNES
56. Shadowrun: Hong Kong - PC
57. Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel - PC
58. The Catacomb - PC
59. Azure Striker Gunvolt - 3DS
60. Mighty Gunvolt - 3DS
61. Catacomb Abyss - PC
62. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - PC
63. Strike Suit Zero - Director's Cut - PC
64. Wolfenstein 3D Spear of Destiny - PC
65. StarCraft - PC
66. Metal Storm - NES
67. Septerra Core - PC
68. Metal Warriors - SNES
69. Zelda II - The Adventure of Link - NES
70. Anachronox - PC
71. Faxanadu - NES
72. Adventures of Lolo - NES
73. Ninja Gaiden 2 - NES
74. Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming - PC
75. Mega Man 5 - NES

This was the last of the NES Mega Man games I had to beat, due to way I've played through the series. As a kid I owned 2 & 4, never beat either. I borrowed 6 from a friend and was able to beat it (easiest Mega Man on the NES). Later on I got the Mega Man Anniversary Collection and beat 1-4 on it, but I never got around to finishing 5. As I recall I game overed in the Proto Man castle and never recovered. So I figured it was high time I wrap it up.

Since it's been a while since I've played a Mega Man I decided to play through the game from the start, and I'm glad I did. I was able to stock up on lives and E-tanks and was able to barrel my way through the game even though I didn't know a lot of the patterns. Most of the bosses fall into exploitable patterns really easily. The weapons are a real mixed bag. I'd say none of them are worth using in the stages (maybe Gravity in a few spots) but at least most of them are worthwhile on the appropriate boss. Power Stone is just terrible in its mechanics and Napalm takes some practice to figure out how the trajectory works. In a change from previous Mega Man games the terrible awkward weapons AREN'T the best weapon against a Wily form. The closest is Star Shield against the first Wily bot after the boss rush, but even that is optional; you can always have a full Mega Buster shot by the time it becomes vulnerable and the boss is super easy to beat with just that.

This definitely feels like the series is on a downslope. 4's introduction of the Mega Buster was both a great innovation and the lessening of the usefulness of boss weapons (for good and bad). 5's only real addition is Beat, which is fantastic against a couple of bosses but is also a bit of a pain to use. Even being a bit of a pain, it's still so good that it gets nerfed in 6. But the rest of the game is paint by numbers. Even the obligatory disappearing block section isn't too bad.

Post by **MrPopo** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 9:16 pm

First 50:

51. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - PC
52. Starflight - PC
53. Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast
54. Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 - PC
55. Super Star Wars - SNES
56. Shadowrun: Hong Kong - PC
57. Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel - PC
58. The Catacomb - PC
59. Azure Striker Gunvolt - 3DS
60. Mighty Gunvolt - 3DS
61. Catacomb Abyss - PC
62. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - PC
63. Strike Suit Zero - Director's Cut - PC
64. Wolfenstein 3D Spear of Destiny - PC
65. StarCraft - PC
66. Metal Storm - NES
67. Septerra Core - PC
68. Metal Warriors - SNES
69. Zelda II - The Adventure of Link - NES
70. Anachronox - PC
71. Faxanadu - NES
72. Adventures of Lolo - NES
73. Ninja Gaiden 2 - NES
74. Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming - PC
75. Mega Man 5 - NES
76. MechWarrior 3 - PC

It pains me to say this, but I'm a bit disappointed with MechWarrior 3. I love the 2 trilogy to death, and I thought MechWarrior 4 was solid even though it simplified some things. MechWarrior 3 certainly isn't a bad game, but it's the least favorite of the ones I've played (haven't played 1 yet).

I think the biggest problem with 3 is that there is very little mission variety. Every mission is a "go to the nav points and blow the shit up you find there". Now, every 'Mech game involves going to nav points and blowing shit up, but in other 'Mech games they try to make the details interesting. 2 had escort missions, defense missions, and a mission where you infiltrate with a stolen IFF code. GBL has an underwater mission, a jump into the ship above you to knock out it's power mission, and a capture mission where you need to leg a specific 'Mech without killing it. And Mercs had a variety of interesting goals, including a mission where you lure defenders away then strike a spaceport before beating a hasty retreat while the defenders are out of position, followed by a race to the end where avoiding enemies is encouraged. By contrast, every single mission in 3 is a smash and grab. It makes sense in the context of the story, but it makes things feel very samey. It also makes the game feel short, even though it has the same number of missions as 2.

The other thing that bugged me more and more as the game went on was how fragile everything feels. Compared to MechWarrior 2 everything dies faster in 3, and that's before you exploit the fact that legging a 'Mech is an instant kill. I ended up equipping myself with a few hard hitting weapons and legging every 'Mech I ran into (and the knock down system makes that job even easier). It's unfortunate that 4 ended up making legging useless because of this; even knocking out both legs just slows the enemy to a crawl, which is useful, but you could have spent that time killing them with torso shots. The flip side of this general vulnerability everyone has (even their torsos don't take much damage) is that you pretty much have to start using your lancemates as bait in the later missions or you get focused down and destroyed. The worst of it is that your lancemates have some pretty terrible AI when it comes to realizing combat is going on and shooting stuff. When you tell them to shoot stuff they do just fine (barring the occasional bad pathing for far away targets). Too much micro managing.

But I'll end this on a high note (that ends up getting tempered anyway by a lore thing that bugs me). The game does a good job with the feeling of being a ragtag force behind enemy lines trying to do the best you can. The dynamic salvage of enemy 'Mechs rewards you for legging and gives a sense of accomplishment, and you have to carefully manage your ammo reserves (especially for the big guns). In Mercs you could have a policy of always buying out the store of ammo and midway through the campaign you'd never have ammo problems again, but here you always need to be conscious of what you're using. The only thing that bugs me is how much Inner Sphere equipment and 'Mechs there are, considering this is a world in Clan space, so it's not like the Jaguars should be living off of salvage. It even includes Inner Sphere 'Mechs developed in response to the invasion that shouldn't have been on a Clan world in these numbers. I know it's entirely for giving you an upgrade path, it just bugs the part of me that cares about lore.

Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Re: Games Beaten 2015