Games Beaten 2018
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noiseredux
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 38148
- Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:09 pm
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2018
Keep it strong brother!
Edit:
Fatal Fury 2 (Playstation 2) - 01/07/2018
Raguy (Neo Geo CD) - 02/07/2018
Mario's Tennis (Virtual Boy) - 03/07/2018
Assault Android Cactus (Xbox One) - 05/07/2018
Fatal Fury Special (Playstation 2) - 05/07/2018
Sengoku (Xbox One) - 05/07/2018
Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy) - 06/07/2018
Real Bout Fatal Fury (Playstation 4) - 06/07/2018
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Playstation 4) - 07/07/2018
Got it free with PS Plus and i've been playing it this week, finished on Hardened and although i liked the gameplay a lot, this story while not annoying as other future COD is repetitive and it drags the experience down at the last stages, good game though.
Flash reflexes are required to play online
Edit:
Fatal Fury 2 (Playstation 2) - 01/07/2018
Raguy (Neo Geo CD) - 02/07/2018
Mario's Tennis (Virtual Boy) - 03/07/2018
Assault Android Cactus (Xbox One) - 05/07/2018
Fatal Fury Special (Playstation 2) - 05/07/2018
Sengoku (Xbox One) - 05/07/2018
Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy) - 06/07/2018
Real Bout Fatal Fury (Playstation 4) - 06/07/2018
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Playstation 4) - 07/07/2018
Got it free with PS Plus and i've been playing it this week, finished on Hardened and although i liked the gameplay a lot, this story while not annoying as other future COD is repetitive and it drags the experience down at the last stages, good game though.
Flash reflexes are required to play online
Re: Games Beaten 2018
Sorry to hear that you've been going through a rough patch, null. I had my own bout with disinterest in playing video games, for a bit not that long ago. I hope you'll be able to work your way out of it before long, or that you find the help you need, if you need some.
Great review of Megami Tensei! I enjoyed reading it very much. I just hope it didn't lead you into your present state. In terms of the story, I can't disagree with you, but I kind of like to keep it in the context of the time of its release: The Famicom version came out in September of '87, just a year after the original Dragon Quest, and a full three months before Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star. Of all of those games, Megami Tensei's story is the most interesting to me, personally, but you're right in that the story seems like a bit of an afterthought. If you end up continuing with the series, Megami Tensei II, and Shin Megami Tensei will have much more of a focus on a full, fleshed out story. Shin Megami Tensei also begins the Chaos, Neutral, and Lawful story paths, and both of them ramp up the monster melding, with combinations of two or three monsters. It's just a shame that the SNES remake of Megami Tensei II doesn't really hold up to the original, with it's much slower pace of play, and not really doing the original OST justice. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGEzqWGp2WA&t=1367s)
Great review of Megami Tensei! I enjoyed reading it very much. I just hope it didn't lead you into your present state. In terms of the story, I can't disagree with you, but I kind of like to keep it in the context of the time of its release: The Famicom version came out in September of '87, just a year after the original Dragon Quest, and a full three months before Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star. Of all of those games, Megami Tensei's story is the most interesting to me, personally, but you're right in that the story seems like a bit of an afterthought. If you end up continuing with the series, Megami Tensei II, and Shin Megami Tensei will have much more of a focus on a full, fleshed out story. Shin Megami Tensei also begins the Chaos, Neutral, and Lawful story paths, and both of them ramp up the monster melding, with combinations of two or three monsters. It's just a shame that the SNES remake of Megami Tensei II doesn't really hold up to the original, with it's much slower pace of play, and not really doing the original OST justice. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGEzqWGp2WA&t=1367s)
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ElkinFencer10
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 8654
- Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
- Location: Henderson, North Carolina
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2018
Games Beaten in 2018 So Far - 78
* denotes a replay
January (16 Games Beaten)
February (18 Games Beaten)
March (10 Games Beaten)
April (7 Games Beaten)
May (6 Games Beaten)
June (20 Games Beaten)
July (1 Game Beaten)
78. Broforce - PlayStation 4 - July 4
This review is a few days late, but this was my yay America game last Wednesday. To celebrate Independence Day for the United States, Jerome and I played through all of Broforce start to finish. I wasn't really sure what to expect going in, but after all of about thirty seconds, I was saying "Dear god, literally everything about this game is perfect." And it's true. This is the most perfect and accurate portrayal of the core of the American spirit. And I don't necessarily mean that as a compliment.
Broforce is a pixel art run and gun shooter that brilliantly caricatures American foreign policy and our general "shoot first, ask questions maybe sometime but don't get your hopes up" attitude. It's fun no matter what, but it's definitely best enjoyed with local multiplayer. The plot is absolutely amazing. You're part of an elite American military unit going around the world to deliver freedom and democracy whether folks want it or not. Just as you're starting to run out of terrorists to kill, ALIENS SHOW UP AND INVADE. Of course, being the world's enforcer of justice, America steps in and deploys the Broforce to kick some alien ass. BUT THEN SATAN SHOWS UP. It's stupid. It's beautifully, brilliantly, gloriously stupid.
The visuals are pretty plain being pixel art and all, but they get the detail right in all the right places. Each "bro" on the Broforce is a parody of an action movie hero. You've got Bronan the Brobarian, Brochete, The Boondock Bros, Brommando, Rambro, Broheart, the Brolander, Double Bro Seven....it's amazing. All of the characters are extremely fitting representations of the people they're based on, and the fact that you don't get to choose your bro - you just spawn as a random bro - can be annoying at first but ends up forcing you to use all of the bros and really makes you appreciate the comedic effort that went into the game's development.
The music and sound effects are amazing. Guns have satisfying effects, the music is over the top and awesome, and the explosions look and sound glorious. The gore and blood spray from dead enemies is absolutely fantastic and will definitely please your inner psychopath. As great as the gameplay is, though, the best part is definitely the writing. Each mission has a short blurb giving you some context for why you're going there. They start off sounding reasonable - terrorists are trying to steal weapons or something - and then quickly descend into (depressingly accurate) ridiculousness like "These people are different from us! Kill them!"
I really can't heap enough praise on Broforce. It truly is the greatest multiplayer experience I've had in a LONG time. It's fun, it's hilarious, it's challenging but not (usually) outright BS, and it's a perfect couch co-op game. I can't recommend this highly enough. Download it. Doesn't matter if it's PlayStation, PC, or - once the port is finished and released - Switch. Just buy it. Play it. Love it. BROFORCE!
* denotes a replay
January (16 Games Beaten)
February (18 Games Beaten)
March (10 Games Beaten)
April (7 Games Beaten)
May (6 Games Beaten)
June (20 Games Beaten)
July (1 Game Beaten)
78. Broforce - PlayStation 4 - July 4
This review is a few days late, but this was my yay America game last Wednesday. To celebrate Independence Day for the United States, Jerome and I played through all of Broforce start to finish. I wasn't really sure what to expect going in, but after all of about thirty seconds, I was saying "Dear god, literally everything about this game is perfect." And it's true. This is the most perfect and accurate portrayal of the core of the American spirit. And I don't necessarily mean that as a compliment.
Broforce is a pixel art run and gun shooter that brilliantly caricatures American foreign policy and our general "shoot first, ask questions maybe sometime but don't get your hopes up" attitude. It's fun no matter what, but it's definitely best enjoyed with local multiplayer. The plot is absolutely amazing. You're part of an elite American military unit going around the world to deliver freedom and democracy whether folks want it or not. Just as you're starting to run out of terrorists to kill, ALIENS SHOW UP AND INVADE. Of course, being the world's enforcer of justice, America steps in and deploys the Broforce to kick some alien ass. BUT THEN SATAN SHOWS UP. It's stupid. It's beautifully, brilliantly, gloriously stupid.
The visuals are pretty plain being pixel art and all, but they get the detail right in all the right places. Each "bro" on the Broforce is a parody of an action movie hero. You've got Bronan the Brobarian, Brochete, The Boondock Bros, Brommando, Rambro, Broheart, the Brolander, Double Bro Seven....it's amazing. All of the characters are extremely fitting representations of the people they're based on, and the fact that you don't get to choose your bro - you just spawn as a random bro - can be annoying at first but ends up forcing you to use all of the bros and really makes you appreciate the comedic effort that went into the game's development.
The music and sound effects are amazing. Guns have satisfying effects, the music is over the top and awesome, and the explosions look and sound glorious. The gore and blood spray from dead enemies is absolutely fantastic and will definitely please your inner psychopath. As great as the gameplay is, though, the best part is definitely the writing. Each mission has a short blurb giving you some context for why you're going there. They start off sounding reasonable - terrorists are trying to steal weapons or something - and then quickly descend into (depressingly accurate) ridiculousness like "These people are different from us! Kill them!"
I really can't heap enough praise on Broforce. It truly is the greatest multiplayer experience I've had in a LONG time. It's fun, it's hilarious, it's challenging but not (usually) outright BS, and it's a perfect couch co-op game. I can't recommend this highly enough. Download it. Doesn't matter if it's PlayStation, PC, or - once the port is finished and released - Switch. Just buy it. Play it. Love it. BROFORCE!
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
Re: Games Beaten 2018
1. Ultima V - PC
2. Ultima VI - PC
3. Might and Magic VI - PC
4. Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny - PC
5. Pool of Radiance - PC
6. Curse of the Azure Bonds - PC
7. Secret of the Silver Blades - PC
8. Pools of Darkness - PC
9. Gateway to the Savage Frontier - PC
10. Treasures of the Savage Frontier - PC
11. Champions of Krynn - PC
12. Death Knights of Krynn - PC
13. Dark Queen of Krynn - PC
14. Into the Breach - PC
15. Lords of the Realm - PC
16. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands - PC
17. Lords of the Realm II - PC
18. The Alliance Alive - 3DS
19. Shattered Steel - PC
20. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition - PC
21. Battletech - PC
22. Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part I - PC
23. Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part II - PC
24. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon - Switch
25. Pillars of Eternity II - PC
26. Dragon Ball FighterZ - PS4
27. Detroit: Become Human - PC4
28. Call of Duty: United Offensive - PC
29. The Last of Us - PS4
30. The Last of Us: Left Behind - PS4
31. Prey: Mooncrash - PC
32. Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds - PS4
33. Resident Evil 7 - PC
34. Resident Evil 7: Not A Hero - PC
35. Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War III - PC
36. Overwhelm - PC
37. Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - PC
Ashes is an RTS that was built as a gameplay successor to Supreme Commander. Like SupCom it involves large battles that you can zoom out all the way on and a streaming economy. However, the scale isn't quite as large and the tech tree isn't as deep. Your forces come in three tiers; frigates, cruisers, and then your superheavy dreadnaughts which serve as the anchorpieces of your army. The game also does the economy slightly differently. In SupCom you got mass through building extractors on nodes that were distributed throughout the map, and got energy by building power generators in your base. You had the option of making more mass at the cost of a lot of energy through late game structures. In Ashes you instead have a series of control points to capture. Some of these points will have nodes on them, and when you've captured a point you get resources from those nodes. Then if you build extractors on the nodes you gain more resources. Not all points have nodes, but are still important to capture because you only gain resources from points that are connected to your base along the network. This also means that points that serve as a single linkage between groups are points you can capture to cut off your opponent's supply. There is a third resource that is generated by a structure you can build which is used for all your upgrades; increasing your supply cap, your damage and health, and some miscellaneous ones.
The major innovation this game brings to combat is the army system. If you have a group you can click a button and now the selected units will form into a single unit called an army. The most powerful unit becomes the army leader and everything will then maneuver around it as appropriate to engage in the optimal actions. This severely reduces the amount of micro you need to engage in, which is very welcome. It really helps keep the support units in line, as they will stay in the back where they belong, rather than racing forward because they have nothing to do as part of your attack move.
Unfortunately, the story is incredibly weak. One of the concepts isn't explored in any real way, and the game really wants about twice as much dialog to get across what it wants. It's a real shame, because C&C and StarCraft both do an excellent job of having a narrative to why you're engaging in army battles, whereas this game just puts in a tiny bit of window dressing as to what the specific objective of this one battle is, rather than in the overall context of the world. It's unfortunate, because there is an interesting idea here.
2. Ultima VI - PC
3. Might and Magic VI - PC
4. Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny - PC
5. Pool of Radiance - PC
6. Curse of the Azure Bonds - PC
7. Secret of the Silver Blades - PC
8. Pools of Darkness - PC
9. Gateway to the Savage Frontier - PC
10. Treasures of the Savage Frontier - PC
11. Champions of Krynn - PC
12. Death Knights of Krynn - PC
13. Dark Queen of Krynn - PC
14. Into the Breach - PC
15. Lords of the Realm - PC
16. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands - PC
17. Lords of the Realm II - PC
18. The Alliance Alive - 3DS
19. Shattered Steel - PC
20. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition - PC
21. Battletech - PC
22. Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part I - PC
23. Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part II - PC
24. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon - Switch
25. Pillars of Eternity II - PC
26. Dragon Ball FighterZ - PS4
27. Detroit: Become Human - PC4
28. Call of Duty: United Offensive - PC
29. The Last of Us - PS4
30. The Last of Us: Left Behind - PS4
31. Prey: Mooncrash - PC
32. Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds - PS4
33. Resident Evil 7 - PC
34. Resident Evil 7: Not A Hero - PC
35. Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War III - PC
36. Overwhelm - PC
37. Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - PC
Ashes is an RTS that was built as a gameplay successor to Supreme Commander. Like SupCom it involves large battles that you can zoom out all the way on and a streaming economy. However, the scale isn't quite as large and the tech tree isn't as deep. Your forces come in three tiers; frigates, cruisers, and then your superheavy dreadnaughts which serve as the anchorpieces of your army. The game also does the economy slightly differently. In SupCom you got mass through building extractors on nodes that were distributed throughout the map, and got energy by building power generators in your base. You had the option of making more mass at the cost of a lot of energy through late game structures. In Ashes you instead have a series of control points to capture. Some of these points will have nodes on them, and when you've captured a point you get resources from those nodes. Then if you build extractors on the nodes you gain more resources. Not all points have nodes, but are still important to capture because you only gain resources from points that are connected to your base along the network. This also means that points that serve as a single linkage between groups are points you can capture to cut off your opponent's supply. There is a third resource that is generated by a structure you can build which is used for all your upgrades; increasing your supply cap, your damage and health, and some miscellaneous ones.
The major innovation this game brings to combat is the army system. If you have a group you can click a button and now the selected units will form into a single unit called an army. The most powerful unit becomes the army leader and everything will then maneuver around it as appropriate to engage in the optimal actions. This severely reduces the amount of micro you need to engage in, which is very welcome. It really helps keep the support units in line, as they will stay in the back where they belong, rather than racing forward because they have nothing to do as part of your attack move.
Unfortunately, the story is incredibly weak. One of the concepts isn't explored in any real way, and the game really wants about twice as much dialog to get across what it wants. It's a real shame, because C&C and StarCraft both do an excellent job of having a narrative to why you're engaging in army battles, whereas this game just puts in a tiny bit of window dressing as to what the specific objective of this one battle is, rather than in the overall context of the world. It's unfortunate, because there is an interesting idea here.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Games Beaten 2018
1. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Genesis)
2. Darkwing Duck (NES)
3. Batman* (NES)
4. Journey to Silius (NES)
5. Aladdin* (SNES)
6. Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse* (SNES)
7. Run Saber (SNES)
8. Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
9. Ninja Warriors (SNES)
10. Thunder Spirits* (SNES)
11. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
11. Thunder Force III* (Genesis)
12. Donkey Kong Country* (SNES)
13. Skyblazer (SNES)
14. Super Turrican* (SNES)
15. Donkey Kong Country 2* (SNES)
16. Super Turrican 2* (SNES)
17. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4)
18. Monster Hunter World (PS4)
19. Resident Evil: Director's Cut (PSX)
20. Resident Evil 2: DualShock* [Claire A/Leon B] (PSX)
21. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PS4)
22. Resident Evil HD* (PS4) [PLATINUM]
23. Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares* (PS4)
24. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition* (PS4) [Vergil]
25. Yakuza Kiwami (PS4)
26. Nioh (PS4)
27. Super Mario Bros 3Mix (NES Romhack)
28. Yakuza 6 (PS4)
29. Metroid: Rogue Dawn (NES Romhack)
30. Front Mission: Gun Hazard (SNES)
31. Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB)
32. The Guardian Legend (NES)
33. Brain Lord (SNES)
34. Assault Suits Valken (SNES)
35. Black Mesa (PC) [May2018]
36. Super Metroid Randomizer [C5708009]
37. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (PC)
38. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade)
39. Captain Commando (Arcade)
40. Fallout: New Vegas* (PC)
41. The Punisher (Arcade)
42. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)
43. TMNT: Turtles in Time (Arcade)
44. Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder (Arcade)
45. Golden Axe (Arcade)
46. Undercover Cops (Arcade)
47. X-Men (Arcade)
48. Double Dragon (Arcade)
49. Final Fight* (Arcade)
50. Battletoads* (Arcade)
51. Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
52. TMNT III: The Manhattan Project* (NES)
53. Mega Man Zero* (DS) [MMZC]
54. Mega Man Zero 2* (DS) [MMZC]
55. Mega Man Zero 3* (DS) [MMZC]
56. Mega Man Zero 4* (DS) [MMZC]
57. Shadow Hearts (PS2)
* = replay
26h 42m 02s
+ Awesome main characters across the board and they really grow as you journey through the game.
+ Unique 1900's gothic nightmare-ish setting with some steampunk on the side every once and awhile. Think... Vampire Hunter D or Hellsing, something strange along those lines. First half of the game takes place in Asia, then the second is in Europe.
+ Gorgeous pre-rendered backdrops which were sadly starting to get tossed out during the PS2's era. Visually this game holds up tremendously.
+ A+ OST, courtesy of Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoshitaka Hirota, and Masaharu Iwata.
+ Solid difficulty and interesting battle mechanics with the timing based Judgment Ring system.
+ 26 hours for probably 90% of the content that I accomplished is very doable and awesome, nothing obscenely long here.
- FAQ/Guide is highly required. Nearly 40% or so of the game is deep hidden content, entire story/character arcs, best weapons/equipment, transformations for the main character, one of the best optional dungeons, etc. Some of the main dungeons were also very hellish in their design with repetitive maze gimmicks or even obtusely random teleporting from one place to another, these dungeons would have been a headache without a guide. Nothing unusual for JRPG's but it seemed a bit severe here with how a ton of the content is obtusely hidden away.
- Judgement Ring gets tiresome outside of battles, for some key items, a weird Lottery Ticket system across key NPC's, and other weird things.
- There's a strange Sanity system here (SP points, third to HP/MP) along with a graveyard that builds up with the more monsters you kill, both of these you have to constantly keep in check. SP restores after each battle but it is something you have to watch out for and monitor. While never a huge issue, I'm not the biggest fan of gimmicks like this stuff.
Overall, highly recommended for JRPG fans. Now I need to check out Koudelka and Shadow Hearts: Covenant sometime and I'm very excited for both. Maybe I'll consider the third Shadow Hearts game someday, though it always sounds like a huge downgrade according to fans and looks like it really loses the gothic grit the others have.
2. Darkwing Duck (NES)
3. Batman* (NES)
4. Journey to Silius (NES)
5. Aladdin* (SNES)
6. Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse* (SNES)
7. Run Saber (SNES)
8. Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
9. Ninja Warriors (SNES)
10. Thunder Spirits* (SNES)
11. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
11. Thunder Force III* (Genesis)
12. Donkey Kong Country* (SNES)
13. Skyblazer (SNES)
14. Super Turrican* (SNES)
15. Donkey Kong Country 2* (SNES)
16. Super Turrican 2* (SNES)
17. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4)
18. Monster Hunter World (PS4)
19. Resident Evil: Director's Cut (PSX)
20. Resident Evil 2: DualShock* [Claire A/Leon B] (PSX)
21. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PS4)
22. Resident Evil HD* (PS4) [PLATINUM]
23. Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares* (PS4)
24. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition* (PS4) [Vergil]
25. Yakuza Kiwami (PS4)
26. Nioh (PS4)
27. Super Mario Bros 3Mix (NES Romhack)
28. Yakuza 6 (PS4)
29. Metroid: Rogue Dawn (NES Romhack)
30. Front Mission: Gun Hazard (SNES)
31. Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB)
32. The Guardian Legend (NES)
33. Brain Lord (SNES)
34. Assault Suits Valken (SNES)
35. Black Mesa (PC) [May2018]
36. Super Metroid Randomizer [C5708009]
37. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (PC)
38. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade)
39. Captain Commando (Arcade)
40. Fallout: New Vegas* (PC)
41. The Punisher (Arcade)
42. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)
43. TMNT: Turtles in Time (Arcade)
44. Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder (Arcade)
45. Golden Axe (Arcade)
46. Undercover Cops (Arcade)
47. X-Men (Arcade)
48. Double Dragon (Arcade)
49. Final Fight* (Arcade)
50. Battletoads* (Arcade)
51. Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
52. TMNT III: The Manhattan Project* (NES)
53. Mega Man Zero* (DS) [MMZC]
54. Mega Man Zero 2* (DS) [MMZC]
55. Mega Man Zero 3* (DS) [MMZC]
56. Mega Man Zero 4* (DS) [MMZC]
57. Shadow Hearts (PS2)
* = replay
26h 42m 02s
+ Awesome main characters across the board and they really grow as you journey through the game.
+ Unique 1900's gothic nightmare-ish setting with some steampunk on the side every once and awhile. Think... Vampire Hunter D or Hellsing, something strange along those lines. First half of the game takes place in Asia, then the second is in Europe.
+ Gorgeous pre-rendered backdrops which were sadly starting to get tossed out during the PS2's era. Visually this game holds up tremendously.
+ A+ OST, courtesy of Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoshitaka Hirota, and Masaharu Iwata.
+ Solid difficulty and interesting battle mechanics with the timing based Judgment Ring system.
+ 26 hours for probably 90% of the content that I accomplished is very doable and awesome, nothing obscenely long here.
- FAQ/Guide is highly required. Nearly 40% or so of the game is deep hidden content, entire story/character arcs, best weapons/equipment, transformations for the main character, one of the best optional dungeons, etc. Some of the main dungeons were also very hellish in their design with repetitive maze gimmicks or even obtusely random teleporting from one place to another, these dungeons would have been a headache without a guide. Nothing unusual for JRPG's but it seemed a bit severe here with how a ton of the content is obtusely hidden away.
- Judgement Ring gets tiresome outside of battles, for some key items, a weird Lottery Ticket system across key NPC's, and other weird things.
- There's a strange Sanity system here (SP points, third to HP/MP) along with a graveyard that builds up with the more monsters you kill, both of these you have to constantly keep in check. SP restores after each battle but it is something you have to watch out for and monitor. While never a huge issue, I'm not the biggest fan of gimmicks like this stuff.
Overall, highly recommended for JRPG fans. Now I need to check out Koudelka and Shadow Hearts: Covenant sometime and I'm very excited for both. Maybe I'll consider the third Shadow Hearts game someday, though it always sounds like a huge downgrade according to fans and looks like it really loses the gothic grit the others have.
-
BoneSnapDeez
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 20122
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
- Location: Maine
Re: Games Beaten 2018
Still chuckle at the fact that MIDWAY served as publisher there.
1. Antarctic Adventure (Famicom)
2. Nuts & Milk (Famicom)
3. Commando (Atari 2600)
4. Binary Land (Famicom)
5. Devil World (Famicom)
6. Disney's Aladdin (SNES)
7. Popeye (NES)
8. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
9. Ys: The Vanished Omens (Sega Master System)
10 Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter (Famicom)
11. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES)
12. Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
13. Otenba Becky no Daibouken (MSX)
14. Metroid (Famicom Disk System)
15. Mahou Kishi Rayearth (Game Boy)
16. Wabbit (Atari 2600)
17. Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy)
18. Warpman (Famicom)
19. Final Fantasy (NES)
20. Transformers: Convoy no Nazo (Famicom)
21. Arcade Archives: Moon Patrol (Switch eShop)
22. Gremlins (Atari 2600)
23. Arcade Archives: Ninja-Kid (Switch eShop)
24. Shining in the Darkness (Genesis)
25. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Gate of Doom (Switch eShop)
26. Front Line (Atari 2600)
27. Donkey Kong 3 (NES)
28. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
29. Exerion (Famicom)
30. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Bad Dudes (Switch eShop)
31. Arcade Archives: Double Dragon (Switch eShop)
32. ACA NeoGeo: Ninja Combat (Switch eShop)
33. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Wizard Fire (Switch eShop)
34. Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (Game Boy)
35. Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy)
Released in late 1995, Virtual Boy Wario Land is the second installment of Wario's own personal series. The game that's literally called Wario Land II is the third, naturally. Though competition was incredibly stiff, Virtual Boy Wario Land is generally regarded as one of the best, if not the best, game available on Nintendo's ill-fated "handheld."
The core elements from the original Game Boy Wario Land are retained for this sequel. Wario still has his power-up hats; though slightly modified they still grant the expected dash, flight, and fire-spewing capabilities. There's an additional way to combine hat powers, though this element is a bit muddled. The collectathon is back again, but mercifully scaled down. Exactly one treasure exists per stage, and they aren't incredibly difficult to locate. Coin-collecting is emphasized and some terrible post-stage minigames can be used to increase Wario's horde.
The fundamental structure of the game is interesting. It reminds me of Bio Senshi Dan. Or, to use a non-hipster reference, picture Metroid but with a series of huge non-linear discrete levels instead of one large open world. Wario's quest is centered around exploring a series of underground caves, a clever way to utilize the Virtual Boy's omnipresent blackness, reclaiming his treasure from the dastardly "Mask-Guys." Strictly speaking, this is a fun game. Controls are flawless and each stage feels tailor-made to accommodate Wario's girth and momentum. The sluggishness that characterized Wario's first outing is gone, replaced by the speedy clip reminiscent of a certain plumber. Speaking of that mustachioed hero, Kazumi Totaka of 6 Golden Coins fame provides the soundtrack here. It's quite upbeat and chipper, similar to his previous output, while keeping time with Wario's inherent sneakiness.
What's most impressive about the game is how it utilizes the undeniably clunky Virtual Boy. The visual presentation exceeds expectations. Sprites are large, but never seem to clutter the screen, and move smoothly. There's a great layering effect applied to every object, bringing the mid-90s "3D" experience to the player. An additional "gimmick" allows Wario to jump from foreground to background. It's a cool mechanic, slyly adding space to each stage by using what would otherwise be a static backdrop image. Said mechanic also pops up during boss battles, as several have to be chased from background to foreground, or struck within the void in between. And while the Virtual Boy red & back color scheme is garish and tough on the eyes, it actually works within the context of this particular game, a dim light shining into an otherwise dark chasm.
This is a fine experience, better than I anticipated, and should silence anyone who dismisses the Virtual Boy as an outright failure. It's a shame it was never ported or officially emulated after its original release. If Nintendo had to the sense to bring Game & Watch classics to the DS, why not do the same with Virtual Boy and the 3DS? Some games are just begging for a wider audience, this is one.
1. Antarctic Adventure (Famicom)
2. Nuts & Milk (Famicom)
3. Commando (Atari 2600)
4. Binary Land (Famicom)
5. Devil World (Famicom)
6. Disney's Aladdin (SNES)
7. Popeye (NES)
8. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
9. Ys: The Vanished Omens (Sega Master System)
10 Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter (Famicom)
11. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES)
12. Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
13. Otenba Becky no Daibouken (MSX)
14. Metroid (Famicom Disk System)
15. Mahou Kishi Rayearth (Game Boy)
16. Wabbit (Atari 2600)
17. Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy)
18. Warpman (Famicom)
19. Final Fantasy (NES)
20. Transformers: Convoy no Nazo (Famicom)
21. Arcade Archives: Moon Patrol (Switch eShop)
22. Gremlins (Atari 2600)
23. Arcade Archives: Ninja-Kid (Switch eShop)
24. Shining in the Darkness (Genesis)
25. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Gate of Doom (Switch eShop)
26. Front Line (Atari 2600)
27. Donkey Kong 3 (NES)
28. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
29. Exerion (Famicom)
30. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Bad Dudes (Switch eShop)
31. Arcade Archives: Double Dragon (Switch eShop)
32. ACA NeoGeo: Ninja Combat (Switch eShop)
33. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Wizard Fire (Switch eShop)
34. Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (Game Boy)
35. Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy)
Released in late 1995, Virtual Boy Wario Land is the second installment of Wario's own personal series. The game that's literally called Wario Land II is the third, naturally. Though competition was incredibly stiff, Virtual Boy Wario Land is generally regarded as one of the best, if not the best, game available on Nintendo's ill-fated "handheld."
The core elements from the original Game Boy Wario Land are retained for this sequel. Wario still has his power-up hats; though slightly modified they still grant the expected dash, flight, and fire-spewing capabilities. There's an additional way to combine hat powers, though this element is a bit muddled. The collectathon is back again, but mercifully scaled down. Exactly one treasure exists per stage, and they aren't incredibly difficult to locate. Coin-collecting is emphasized and some terrible post-stage minigames can be used to increase Wario's horde.
The fundamental structure of the game is interesting. It reminds me of Bio Senshi Dan. Or, to use a non-hipster reference, picture Metroid but with a series of huge non-linear discrete levels instead of one large open world. Wario's quest is centered around exploring a series of underground caves, a clever way to utilize the Virtual Boy's omnipresent blackness, reclaiming his treasure from the dastardly "Mask-Guys." Strictly speaking, this is a fun game. Controls are flawless and each stage feels tailor-made to accommodate Wario's girth and momentum. The sluggishness that characterized Wario's first outing is gone, replaced by the speedy clip reminiscent of a certain plumber. Speaking of that mustachioed hero, Kazumi Totaka of 6 Golden Coins fame provides the soundtrack here. It's quite upbeat and chipper, similar to his previous output, while keeping time with Wario's inherent sneakiness.
What's most impressive about the game is how it utilizes the undeniably clunky Virtual Boy. The visual presentation exceeds expectations. Sprites are large, but never seem to clutter the screen, and move smoothly. There's a great layering effect applied to every object, bringing the mid-90s "3D" experience to the player. An additional "gimmick" allows Wario to jump from foreground to background. It's a cool mechanic, slyly adding space to each stage by using what would otherwise be a static backdrop image. Said mechanic also pops up during boss battles, as several have to be chased from background to foreground, or struck within the void in between. And while the Virtual Boy red & back color scheme is garish and tough on the eyes, it actually works within the context of this particular game, a dim light shining into an otherwise dark chasm.
This is a fine experience, better than I anticipated, and should silence anyone who dismisses the Virtual Boy as an outright failure. It's a shame it was never ported or officially emulated after its original release. If Nintendo had to the sense to bring Game & Watch classics to the DS, why not do the same with Virtual Boy and the 3DS? Some games are just begging for a wider audience, this is one.
-
ElkinFencer10
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 8654
- Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
- Location: Henderson, North Carolina
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2018
Games Beaten in 2018 So Far - 79
* denotes a replay
January (16 Games Beaten)
February (18 Games Beaten)
March (10 Games Beaten)
April (7 Games Beaten)
May (6 Games Beaten)
June (20 Games Beaten)
July (2 Games Beaten)
79. Just Cause 2 - PlayStation 3 - July 4
Although I never played the first Just Cause game, I watched a friend of mine from high school play Just Cause 3 a few years ago and thought it looked fantastic. I picked up Just Cause 2 on a whim a while back because it was cheap, and while I have Just Cause 3, I figured it would be better to play this one first so I don't go from 3 to 2 and end up disappointed (god help me, I guess, if I ever end up playing the first one). While there's naturally not as much wanton destruction in this game as I saw my buddy create in the third installment - they are, after all, different console generations - there's still a GLORIOUS amount of carnage and havoc to wreak in Just Cause 2.
The game's story follows the same protagonist from the first Just Cause, Rico Rodriguez, as he travels to the fictional southeast Asian island nation of Panau to overthrow an anti-American dictator. He does this by destroying various government installations, thus creating "chaos," and riling up and empowering the three rebel factions on the island. These factions are the ultranationalist Ular Boys, the communist Reapers, and the mafia Roaches. You pick one of these factions to side with in the final battle, but you'll be working with all three factions during the rest of the game.
Visually, the game looks good for the PlayStation 3. It doesn't push the hardware as hard as The Last of Us or Uncharted 3, but it's still a lovely game graphically. The music is good and fits the feel, but the start of the audio design is the sound effects. Dear god, the explosions sound SO satisfying. Just find a tank or minigun and destroy everything in sight. I could put William Sherman to shame with the destruction I left in my wake. Unfortunately, the voice acting doesn't always match the explosions; the acting is really hit or miss here. Some of the characters are totally fine, but some of the characters - especially the random NPCs - are just bad. Like, not 90s cringe bad, but "this is obviously a white guy trying too hard to sound Asian and it just comes off as kinda racist" bad. Also, while I definitely sided with the communist faction (workers of the world, unite!), the voice actress for the leader made me want to stab myself in the ears with an ice pick with every line. It was terrible.
Just Cause 2 is an absolute must-play for PS3/360 gamer fans of open world murder simulators because it's not just a murder simulator - it's a full blown American-backed terrorism simulator. Yeah, Grand Theft Auto may have hookers and murder and its share of explosions, but Just Cause 2 has quality explosions, not just quantity (although it definitely has the quantity, too). The voice acting is kind of meh, but the story is pretty good, the gameplay is obscenely addicting. You'll be exploring the map, see a previously undiscovered military base, and immediately say "WELL, I GUESS I BETTER GO KILL EVERYONE WITHIN 5 KILOMETERS." Seriously, this game is dirt cheap, and it's a bloody good time (literally).
* denotes a replay
January (16 Games Beaten)
February (18 Games Beaten)
March (10 Games Beaten)
April (7 Games Beaten)
May (6 Games Beaten)
June (20 Games Beaten)
July (2 Games Beaten)
79. Just Cause 2 - PlayStation 3 - July 4
Although I never played the first Just Cause game, I watched a friend of mine from high school play Just Cause 3 a few years ago and thought it looked fantastic. I picked up Just Cause 2 on a whim a while back because it was cheap, and while I have Just Cause 3, I figured it would be better to play this one first so I don't go from 3 to 2 and end up disappointed (god help me, I guess, if I ever end up playing the first one). While there's naturally not as much wanton destruction in this game as I saw my buddy create in the third installment - they are, after all, different console generations - there's still a GLORIOUS amount of carnage and havoc to wreak in Just Cause 2.
The game's story follows the same protagonist from the first Just Cause, Rico Rodriguez, as he travels to the fictional southeast Asian island nation of Panau to overthrow an anti-American dictator. He does this by destroying various government installations, thus creating "chaos," and riling up and empowering the three rebel factions on the island. These factions are the ultranationalist Ular Boys, the communist Reapers, and the mafia Roaches. You pick one of these factions to side with in the final battle, but you'll be working with all three factions during the rest of the game.
Visually, the game looks good for the PlayStation 3. It doesn't push the hardware as hard as The Last of Us or Uncharted 3, but it's still a lovely game graphically. The music is good and fits the feel, but the start of the audio design is the sound effects. Dear god, the explosions sound SO satisfying. Just find a tank or minigun and destroy everything in sight. I could put William Sherman to shame with the destruction I left in my wake. Unfortunately, the voice acting doesn't always match the explosions; the acting is really hit or miss here. Some of the characters are totally fine, but some of the characters - especially the random NPCs - are just bad. Like, not 90s cringe bad, but "this is obviously a white guy trying too hard to sound Asian and it just comes off as kinda racist" bad. Also, while I definitely sided with the communist faction (workers of the world, unite!), the voice actress for the leader made me want to stab myself in the ears with an ice pick with every line. It was terrible.
Just Cause 2 is an absolute must-play for PS3/360 gamer fans of open world murder simulators because it's not just a murder simulator - it's a full blown American-backed terrorism simulator. Yeah, Grand Theft Auto may have hookers and murder and its share of explosions, but Just Cause 2 has quality explosions, not just quantity (although it definitely has the quantity, too). The voice acting is kind of meh, but the story is pretty good, the gameplay is obscenely addicting. You'll be exploring the map, see a previously undiscovered military base, and immediately say "WELL, I GUESS I BETTER GO KILL EVERYONE WITHIN 5 KILOMETERS." Seriously, this game is dirt cheap, and it's a bloody good time (literally).
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
-
noiseredux
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 38148
- Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:09 pm
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2018
Dear Elkin,
I have a question - how do you decide what to play next? I mean thank goodness you're finally out of your Assassin's Creed binge, but when you play a seemingly random title I'm just curious - is it something that you are just in the mood for? Do you pick a title out of a virtual hat? Considering you buy roughly 300 games a month, I'd think you'd get struck with choice paralysis when actually deciding what to play.
Sincerely,
Sleepless In New England
I have a question - how do you decide what to play next? I mean thank goodness you're finally out of your Assassin's Creed binge, but when you play a seemingly random title I'm just curious - is it something that you are just in the mood for? Do you pick a title out of a virtual hat? Considering you buy roughly 300 games a month, I'd think you'd get struck with choice paralysis when actually deciding what to play.
Sincerely,
Sleepless In New England
Re: Games Beaten 2018
1. Jungle Book (SNES)(Platformer)
2. Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (SNES)(Light Gun Shooter)
3. Might and Magic VI (PC)(RPG)
4. Revenant (PC)(RPG)
5. Neo Turf Masters (NGPC)(Sports)
6. Fatal Fury: First Contact (NGPC)(Fighter)
7. Pac-Man (NGPC)(Action)
8. Golden Axe (Genesis)(Hack and Slash)
9. Blood and Bacon (PC)(FPS)
10. Gain Ground (Genesis)(Strategy)
11. Flicky (Genesis)(Platformer)
12. Zombie Shooter 2 (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
13. Phantasmagoria (PC)(Point and Click)
14. SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash - Capcom Version (NGPC)(Card Game)
15. Toonstruck (PC)(Point and Click)
16. Riven (PC)(Point and Click)
17. Dragon Wars (PC)(RPG)
18. Dungeon Hack (PC)(RPG)
19. SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)(Fighter)
20. Portal 2 (PC)(Puzzle FPS)
21. Goat Simulator: Waste of Space (PC)(Action)
22. Goat Simulator: Payday (PC)(Action)
23. Goat Simulator: MMO Simulator (PC)(Action)
24. Goat Simulator: GoatZ (PC)(Action)
25. Goat Simulator (PC)(Action)
26. Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)(Beat 'Em Up)
27. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (PC)(Action Platformer)
28. Deadlight (PC)(Platformer)
28. Antichamber (PC)(Puzzle FPS)
29. S.C.A.R.S. (N64)(Racing)
30. Anvil of Dawn (PC)(RPG)
Anvil of Dawn is a mid-90s WRPG that falls into the tile-based dungeon crawler category. In fact, it was one of the last of the tile-based dungeon crawlers during that style's heyday, as free movement and action RPG styles would soon come in vogue thanks to the likes of the Elder Scrolls series, Diablo, Ultima Underworld, and more. That said, as a swan song for a style that would only see a return in the current retro-inspired renaissance we're seeing now, Anvil of Dawn was an awesome way to go out. There's full voice acting, gorgeous real-time combat, pre-rendered cutscenes in a few places, a dark if simplistic storyline, and even a pre-rendered 3D landscape that makes a nice contrast to the various dungeons, even if it's all done on rails.
Anvil of Dawn also succeeds in giving the player some great tools; the in-game map is incredibly useful and shows almost everything you could want to know (with the ability to add notes and a mini-map available when navigating the dungeon), the inventory system is easy to navigate and doesn't hinder the player, and while the magic system's introduction is a little complicated, it quickly becomes simple to use, with all spells readily accessible. Movement is seamless, with the ability to dart in and out of combat a breeze. Your character has a health bar, as well as a portrait to show visual queues for your current status, and you can find the total amount of health and spell points by clicking the bar if you want more precise information. To add to it, leveling is simplistic: just participate in combat or cast spells, and eventually you'll get better in a style or magic element of your choice. It doesn't even half to be in what you use, so you can walk around with a spear, level, and increase your ability to use axes instead if you so desire.
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of complexity to the game. At the start, you pick which of the five adventurers you want to play, but since you can choose to set your stats however you want, this doesn't have a huge affect on gameplay. There are a couple of moments in the game where the choice changes a puzzle based on your gender, and you will find a couple of characters in the world being tortured or brutally murdered depending on who you pick, but otherwise it doesn't influence anything beyond your portrait and voice actor. The story is also incredibly simple: Evil has gotten powerful and is taking over the World, so you have to stop it for Good. This means you have to create a box to hold the Evil's power source and then destroy it. In fact, the big Evil is only known as the Warlord; he doesn't even get a name.
This simplicity also extends to the game itself. There are four weapon classes, but really, only one is useful. Use swords and put points in Slashing until you master it, because all of the best weapons are swords. Magic went up so slowly that I only raised my healing spell, and even if it hadn't, I probably still wouldn't have used it because spell points regenerated so slowly that I didn't feel it was worth trying out. I only used two spells for the game, one of which is required for puzzles. This may come down to taste and stats though, as I always favor tanks for melee and build characters accordingly.
While the game is simple, it doesn't always explain things well. You can breeze through a lot of dungeons and completely miss the items you need. I was thorough, but I'm sure there are still some chests I missed, and I couldn't guess if there are other pieces of gear I missed. Since I had the strength, I just kept nearly everything I thought I would need later, which proved to be enough. There is a journal, but I didn't find it quite as intuitive to use as I needed. Also, the main quest to build a box is given as a series of riddles; that wasn't helpful.
I feel like I'm complaining a lot, but I don't want to make anyone think I didn't enjoy myself. I did, immensely. At this point I've spent a fair amount of time with this genre, so there are a lot of things that I find quite important, and having a vague storyline is pretty par for the course. The tactics that I've developed over time in games like Eye of the Beholder and Dungeon Hack work well here, so I often breezed through combat, but that came from experience. Anvil of Dawn was fun, pretty, and satisfying. I liked it a lot, and I recommend it to other fans of this style of WRPG.
2. Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (SNES)(Light Gun Shooter)
3. Might and Magic VI (PC)(RPG)
4. Revenant (PC)(RPG)
5. Neo Turf Masters (NGPC)(Sports)
6. Fatal Fury: First Contact (NGPC)(Fighter)
7. Pac-Man (NGPC)(Action)
8. Golden Axe (Genesis)(Hack and Slash)
9. Blood and Bacon (PC)(FPS)
10. Gain Ground (Genesis)(Strategy)
11. Flicky (Genesis)(Platformer)
12. Zombie Shooter 2 (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
13. Phantasmagoria (PC)(Point and Click)
14. SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash - Capcom Version (NGPC)(Card Game)
15. Toonstruck (PC)(Point and Click)
16. Riven (PC)(Point and Click)
17. Dragon Wars (PC)(RPG)
18. Dungeon Hack (PC)(RPG)
19. SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)(Fighter)
20. Portal 2 (PC)(Puzzle FPS)
21. Goat Simulator: Waste of Space (PC)(Action)
22. Goat Simulator: Payday (PC)(Action)
23. Goat Simulator: MMO Simulator (PC)(Action)
24. Goat Simulator: GoatZ (PC)(Action)
25. Goat Simulator (PC)(Action)
26. Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)(Beat 'Em Up)
27. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (PC)(Action Platformer)
28. Deadlight (PC)(Platformer)
28. Antichamber (PC)(Puzzle FPS)
29. S.C.A.R.S. (N64)(Racing)
30. Anvil of Dawn (PC)(RPG)
Anvil of Dawn is a mid-90s WRPG that falls into the tile-based dungeon crawler category. In fact, it was one of the last of the tile-based dungeon crawlers during that style's heyday, as free movement and action RPG styles would soon come in vogue thanks to the likes of the Elder Scrolls series, Diablo, Ultima Underworld, and more. That said, as a swan song for a style that would only see a return in the current retro-inspired renaissance we're seeing now, Anvil of Dawn was an awesome way to go out. There's full voice acting, gorgeous real-time combat, pre-rendered cutscenes in a few places, a dark if simplistic storyline, and even a pre-rendered 3D landscape that makes a nice contrast to the various dungeons, even if it's all done on rails.
Anvil of Dawn also succeeds in giving the player some great tools; the in-game map is incredibly useful and shows almost everything you could want to know (with the ability to add notes and a mini-map available when navigating the dungeon), the inventory system is easy to navigate and doesn't hinder the player, and while the magic system's introduction is a little complicated, it quickly becomes simple to use, with all spells readily accessible. Movement is seamless, with the ability to dart in and out of combat a breeze. Your character has a health bar, as well as a portrait to show visual queues for your current status, and you can find the total amount of health and spell points by clicking the bar if you want more precise information. To add to it, leveling is simplistic: just participate in combat or cast spells, and eventually you'll get better in a style or magic element of your choice. It doesn't even half to be in what you use, so you can walk around with a spear, level, and increase your ability to use axes instead if you so desire.
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of complexity to the game. At the start, you pick which of the five adventurers you want to play, but since you can choose to set your stats however you want, this doesn't have a huge affect on gameplay. There are a couple of moments in the game where the choice changes a puzzle based on your gender, and you will find a couple of characters in the world being tortured or brutally murdered depending on who you pick, but otherwise it doesn't influence anything beyond your portrait and voice actor. The story is also incredibly simple: Evil has gotten powerful and is taking over the World, so you have to stop it for Good. This means you have to create a box to hold the Evil's power source and then destroy it. In fact, the big Evil is only known as the Warlord; he doesn't even get a name.
This simplicity also extends to the game itself. There are four weapon classes, but really, only one is useful. Use swords and put points in Slashing until you master it, because all of the best weapons are swords. Magic went up so slowly that I only raised my healing spell, and even if it hadn't, I probably still wouldn't have used it because spell points regenerated so slowly that I didn't feel it was worth trying out. I only used two spells for the game, one of which is required for puzzles. This may come down to taste and stats though, as I always favor tanks for melee and build characters accordingly.
While the game is simple, it doesn't always explain things well. You can breeze through a lot of dungeons and completely miss the items you need. I was thorough, but I'm sure there are still some chests I missed, and I couldn't guess if there are other pieces of gear I missed. Since I had the strength, I just kept nearly everything I thought I would need later, which proved to be enough. There is a journal, but I didn't find it quite as intuitive to use as I needed. Also, the main quest to build a box is given as a series of riddles; that wasn't helpful.
I feel like I'm complaining a lot, but I don't want to make anyone think I didn't enjoy myself. I did, immensely. At this point I've spent a fair amount of time with this genre, so there are a lot of things that I find quite important, and having a vague storyline is pretty par for the course. The tactics that I've developed over time in games like Eye of the Beholder and Dungeon Hack work well here, so I often breezed through combat, but that came from experience. Anvil of Dawn was fun, pretty, and satisfying. I liked it a lot, and I recommend it to other fans of this style of WRPG.
