Games Beaten 2015

[Sarge]

Wow, I'm glad I got my copy of Golden Axe Warrior when I did!

[BoneSnapDeez]

Well I'm glad I held off on buying an actual cart.

[Key-Glyph]

Mass Effect 3: Omega and Leviathan DLC

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Soap! I'm interested in them because I felt somewhat differently about the missions.

Leviathan (warning, serious spoilers):

I think Leviathan suffered in that it tried to patch a broken plot (the final conversation with The Child) and wound up creating more issues than it solved. For instance, I can't be the only one who went into that guy's office and thought, "He's got a piece of Sovereign down here?! Why didn't he show this to the Council?!"

I never replay this one, but I think I'm just a crankypants because I feel they somehow dug themselves deeper in trying to explain the story (and in adding a lot of cliché sci-fi drama) than they already had with the rest of the game. It's obviously an essential mission if you're trying to understand the canon plot as the game is presenting it, as you yourself mentioned.

Omega:

I didn't find this one hugely interesting either (did we really need a new reaper enemy?), but I'll mention a few things I learned later that might make a replay a more interesting prospect for you if you're not aware:

1) Aria's actions at the end differ depending on how many paragon/renegade conversation choices you've made over the course of the mission (they explain this in-game as your "influencing" her behavior through your personality), and

2) if you're an Engineer, you solve an Unwinnable Situation by default that no other class can. I thought that was amazing, because Engineer is the least played of all!

EDIT: I forgot to congratulate you! I think Leviathan in particular gets ridiculously difficult in some of those combat situations. Well done.

[prfsnl_gmr]

1. Cut the Rope (3DS)
2. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
3. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (XBOX)
4. Jewel Link Chronicles: Mountains of Madness (NDS)
5. Super Mario 3D World (WIIU)

A lot of you have played this game already; so, I won't write much. I will just say that it is excellent, and that Nintendo has reached the point where Mario's 3D platformers feel like delightful experiments in 3D platforming mechanics. I thought that this series of experiments was significantly better (and more challenging) than Super Mario 3D Land, and I very much liked how each of the characters played differently. (This, along with the slot machine houses, was a wonderful reference to SMB2.) Peach, Rosalina, and Toad are excellent additions to the cast of playable characters, and while I spent most of my time as Mario (or Luigi for the ghost house levels), I definitely relied on the other characters to get me through some of the post-game content.

Moreover, the game looks fantastic, and I cannot get its catchy soundtrack out of my head. Moreover - and while nothing in the game compares to Luigi's Purple Coins - some of the post-game content is genuine challenging, and I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I completed the game.

In any event, I powered through Champion's Road on Monday, and I finished up the Mystery House Marathon last night. Accordingly, I have all of the stars, all but five of the stamps, all of the gold flags, and four glittering stars by my save profile. I also have had all the 3D platforming I can handle for a while, but since my children absolutely love this game, I am certain that I will be coming back to it frequently.

[Sload Soap]

Mass Effect 3: Omega and Leviathan DLC

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Soap! I'm interested in them because I felt somewhat differently about the missions.

Leviathan (warning, serious spoilers):

I think Leviathan suffered in that it tried to patch a broken plot (the final conversation with The Child) and wound up creating more issues than it solved. For instance, I can't be the only one who went into that guy's office and thought, "He's got a piece of Sovereign down here?! Why didn't he show this to the Council?!"

I never replay this one, but I think I'm just a crankypants because I feel they somehow dug themselves deeper in trying to explain the story (and in adding a lot of cliché sci-fi drama) than they already had with the rest of the game. It's obviously an essential mission if you're trying to understand the canon plot as the game is presenting it, as you yourself mentioned.

Omega:

I didn't find this one hugely interesting either (did we really need a new reaper enemy?), but I'll mention a few things I learned later that might make a replay a more interesting prospect for you if you're not aware:

1) Aria's actions at the end differ depending on how many paragon/renegade conversation choices you've made over the course of the mission (they explain this in-game as your "influencing" her behavior through your personality), and

2) if you're an Engineer, you solve an Unwinnable Situation by default that no other class can. I thought that was amazing, because Engineer is the least played of all!

EDIT: I forgot to congratulate you! I think Leviathan in particular gets ridiculously difficult in some of those combat situations. Well done.

I'm sure you'll agree but ALL of the ME3 DLC plays out like Bioware simultaneously having to explain and apologise for the ending.

Honestly though, I know I said I consider Leviathan the fourth best but the drop in quality from what I'd put in the top three to itself is quite stark.

And thanks for the congrats! That crazy powerful silenced pistol you get in the Citadel DLC really did most of the work in fairness.

[Key-Glyph]

1. Pokémon SoulSilver (DS)
2. Sushi Academy (DS)
3. Alcahest (SFC)
4. Comix Zone (GEN)

5. Lost Vikings (GEN)

Even though I'd barely touched it before now, this game has a lot of sentimental value for me because it was one of my best friend's favorites while we were growing up. We did try co-op mode once, but I remember feeling that I had no clue what was going on. A lot of that was probably due to multiplayer being a bit of a mess and also that we only ever had three-button controllers, but regardless, I was pretty sure then and there that that was it for me and the vikings forever.

As I was helping this old friend settle into a new apartment last year, however, we came across the game. "I remember how much you loved this, but I totally didn't get it," I commented, and he eagerly replied, "Want to borrow it? Borrow it!" So it's about twenty-two years later and I've finally played through the game on my best friend's loaned cartridge. I loved this aspect of the experience. It was like 1993 all over again!

The game itself was much more fun, and way more frustrating, than I'd anticipated. I thought it was going to be predominantly puzzle-focused, but it was equally platformy, and quite demanding in that regard. Precision platforming is fine with me, but this game likes to surprise you with insta-kill traps and obstacles that you really can't avoid on your first go. You're either not expecting them or you simply have to figure out how to navigate them through trial-and-error, and they frequently throw the hardest maneuver at you when you're two steps from the finish line.

Point being, no Genesis game has ever made me wish for save states more than this one.

I did love it, though. The levels aren't overly long, so setbacks aren't completely unmanageable. I will admit that I had to walk away sometimes to cool my head and hands (ah, good old-fashioned sweaty palms), and I did have to look up two or three hints. These solutions were invariably based on my lack of understanding some basic (and I would argue unintuitive) gameplay element, e.g. that you can travel down anti-gravity fields if you have enough downward momentum (not obvious, what with all the up-arrows emblazoned on the walls), that certain "impossible" jumps are surmountable with a slightly longer running start than I'd been attempting, that pipes that looked like background decoration could be climbed, and so on.

One of the best parts was the humor, though. The characters have little conversations at the close of every level, and they chastise you if you start over too many times. I even had the voice of Thor speak unto my vikings on a few occasions, telling them to stop being such an embarrassment.

[BoneSnapDeez]

5. Lost Vikings (GEN)

Glad you liked this. It's been a favorite of mine since childhood and perhaps my favorite Western console game.

I hope you had a 6-button Genesis controller this time. I hate to be "that guy" but I find the game much more playable on the SNES, which it was originally developed for. The controls are just much more intuitive.

And you may not know this, but there are some extra levels in the Genesis version that the other ports lack.

[Stark]

I'm pretty sure Blizzard doesn't make bad games and The Lost Vikings is no exception!

[Key-Glyph]

I hope you had a 6-button Genesis controller this time. I hate to be "that guy" but I find the game much more playable on the SNES, which it was originally developed for. The controls are just much more intuitive.

I was using my Nomad, actually; the six-button I bought a few months ago apparently has a hit-or-miss C, and Lost Vikings does not forgive such things.

And you're not being "that guy." I'm going to guess that the SNES controller has you switch among the Vikings with the shoulder buttons? That would make so much more sense than using X and Z, and it also wouldn't require any shameful controller glancing. (Every time I have to look at a controller because I'm not confident where the buttons are, I cringe at myself.)

And you may not know this, but there are some extra levels in the Genesis version that the other ports lack.

I did come across this tidbit somewhere! I'm not sure which ones were added in, though.

I'm pretty sure Blizzard doesn't make bad games and The Lost Vikings is no exception!

I've heard that the vikings even appear in WoW.

[TSTR]

1. Gone Home (PC)
2. Mario Party 8 (Wii)
3. Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (Genesis)
4. River City Ransom (NES)

Fun times. Light thoughts over in the TR thread.