Games Beaten in 2012 = 32First half of 2013:
6/1 Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller: Episode 3 - The Oracle (PC)6/5 Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)6/2 Bioshock Infinite (PC)6/3 Hotline Miami (Vita)6/10 Kentucky Route Zero: Act II (PC)6/14 The Walking Dead: 400 Days (PC)6/14 New Super Mario Bros. U (WiiU)6/23 The Swapper (PC)6/24 A Dark Room (PC)8/16 Icarus Proudbottom: Teaches Typing (PC)9/2 The Last of Us (PS3)9/6 Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS)9/10 inFamous 2 (PS3)Games Beaten = 34
DLC = 1
Good night, I've not updated this for over 10 games!! I need to keep up with this, as the longer it goes, the more daunting it becomes to update. This is likely my last update for the year, looks like I bested my number of games beaten last year by 2! Some of these I'm just not gonna do proper justice to in my write-up, so if you have any specific questions about a title, let me know.
9/20 Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS)If you've not played this series, I'm not sure what to tell you at this point. Layton games are puzzle games with a fun story and anime cutscenes. This one is no different on the 3DS, the graphics are a touch better and you can turn on 3D. They tried to do something with layering, but nothing felt new or unique. I recommend it if you want more Professor Layton.
9/27 Rayman Legends (Vita)Gorgeous game (especially on the Vita's screen), great, fast-paced platforming and a fun musical take on rhythmic platforming. In the end though, I was disappointed with the length, it seemed they tried to artifically plump it up with redone levels from Origins and they didn't carry over one of the fun collectible bits from the Origins Vita version, where you found items by finding them hidden in the environment and you had to touch them. You had little audio cues to find them and it was really well done, they should've kept that. All-in-all, it is a must play title for platforming fans, but if you haven't played Origins, play that first.
10/19 Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)One of the first Mario games in a long time to actively hold my interest throughout. It's sort of a 2.75D platformer that kind of ends up being sort of a Galaxy (3D-ness) meets NSMB (gameplay) meets Super Mario Bros 3 (aesthetic). There's a ton of fun and unique stuff they do with the camera and hiding star coins. In my opinion this game doesn't truly open up and be super fun and challenging until you've beaten it and are on the Special Stages. Also, if you're not going for the Star coins it isn't going to be as fun either. Great game.
11/2 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC)This game will be on my list of GotY for sure. Beautiful game, beautiful story-telling. The gameplay is really unique, you play as two brothers and each brother is assigned an analog stick and trigger on a controller. The way you have to get them to work together by using these simple mechanics really lends itself to making the characters have personality and driving home the story. It's this year's Journey and while it doesn't achieve that lofty goal, it's pretty darn close.
11/12 Halo 4 (360)I don't know why it took me so long to actually sit down and beat this game, because it is everything I love about Halo and then adds some story and narrative between the main characters that just doesn't exist in other Halo games. 343 has really stepped up and owned this game and they had some really big shoes to fill and they did it. Really looking forward to Halo 5 and a continuation of the current plot.
11/12 The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 - Faith (PS3)Man this game just draws you in from the title screen. Seriously, I could just go on and on about the title screen and the music and the aesthetic, but I'll try not too. Basically this is just an iteration of The Walking Dead, with some tweaks to gameplay and inventory and some interesting style choices built around choice (for major decisions). If you're in the camp that think choice doesn't matter in these games, that will still irk you. I however, am not one of those individuals and feel that choice is huge in these games. This ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I was irate to find out that this was going to be sharing a release schedule with The Walking Dead Season 2...
11/20 Megami Quest (PC)http://shimage.net/megamiquest/en.htmlAnother browser game, fun little diversion.
11/23 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)Finally got around to rectifying the mistake of never beating this game!!! I orginally bought and played this when it first came out for the N64 and got stuck in the water temple, like-ya-do, and moved on when I got frustrated and never looked back. Fast-forward a long ass time and they've improved the water temple and this time I had no issue! I had to look up some other stuff that I probably didn't have any issue with the first time, but whatever. They've done a remaster or whatever on the graphics and gameplay this game really holds up. Music is beautifully scored, love the Gerudo theme so much. I've only really played/beaten this and Wind Waker as far as 3D Zeldas go and they're just magical. Loved every minute.
12/1 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)It was a little strange to play this back-to-back with OoT, but kinda cool in other ways. This is a sequel to Link to the Past and it felt like something I should've gotten on the SNES when I was a kid. The musical score is the strongest in any Zelda I've played, it pulls from LttP, Ocarina, Zelda II, Zelda, I'm sure there's more. Gameplay is super tight and the 3D is the best out of any 3DS game I've played. I loved the new renting mechanic and how you could go just about anywhere. Tutorial section was small and I felt like I was playing really quickly. I played this ridiculously quickly less than a week, which is nuts for me. Enjoyed it immensely.
12/7 Ryse: Son of Rome (XB1)My first next-gen game beaten! I don't quite understand the hate this game gets. Visually gorgeous, it is the best next-gen looking game I've seen yet, Crytek is doing some crazy stuff with this game. There's a section with a giant, Roman naval battle that is insane and the water tech there is mind-blowing. This also has the best facial tech and models I've ever seen. Looks really good and somehow manages to avoid the uncanny valley. The gameplay is pretty simple, but it's viceral and just fun. The kills change depending on where you are in the environment (ie. you'll hold a guy down under water if you're near it or 300-style boot someone off a castle wall) and it gets challenging toward the end, with tougher enemies. They also did a really fun thing with phalanxes where you have to march forward in a line and hold your shield and advance. Just felt really, really good. The co-op gladiator stuff is quite fun too, but it gets a little boring after a few matches and is best played in short stints.
12/24 Titan Souls (PC)http://clawmark.itch.io/titan-soulsA game created for Ludum Dare 28, whose guiding principal was "You Only Have One" or something to that effect. Titan is kinda of like Shadow of the Colossus meets Sword & Sworcery. It doesn't take long to beat, but it sticks with you, definitely check it out if you have 15 minutes or so.
I watched a video last week where it showed an ending you could get without saving the princess. But thou must, you say? Heck no!
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