Games Beaten 2015

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2015

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call - 3DS
A Bird Story - PC
Quake - PC
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PS4
Quake: Scourge of Armagon - PC
Quake: Dissolution of Eternity - PC
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - NDS
Painkiller - PC
Gungrave: Overdose - PS2
Adventure -Atari 2600 (PS2)
Auto Racing - Intellivision (PS2) [1979]
Boxing - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1980]
The Count - TI99/4A (emulated) [1981]
Dragonstomper - Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger (emulated) [1982]
Enduro - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1983]
Diablo III - PS4
Front Line - Atari 2600 (emulated) [1984]
Gertie Goose - The Lost Eggs - C64 (emulated) [1985]
Ocean Commander - Wii
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - PS2
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - PS4
Mortal Kombat: Deception - PS2
The Order: 1886 - PS4
The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo - PC
Grab Them By The Eyes - PC
Growl - PS2/Arcade
Hydlide - NES [1986] *new*

Total: 27

Previously: 2014 | The First 400 Games

Hydlide gets a bum rap because it released in the USA in 1989 almost two years after LoZ...and it is clearly a game with a lot of similarities to that one that is vastly inferior by pretty much any measure. BUT when you consider the game originally came out in 1984 and originally appeared on on the Famicom in 1986 well ahead of LoZ, it is clear that there are some ideas here which likely influenced both Miyamoto and the yet-to-release Ys series.

The music is grating, the grinding is annoying, and the game is a bit obtuse without a FAQ. BUT it is still an interesting title that, if you can appreciate it within its time of release and on its own terms, is worth a look. I am glad I put the time in to play through it for my alpha-by-year challenge.

[Exhuminator]

January
1. Devil's Attorney (Android) (good game)
2. Resident Evil 5 (360) (good game)
3. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (360) (good game)
4. Dragon Quest VIII (PS2) (amazing game)
5. Gears of War (360) (decent game)

February
6. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita) (decent game)
7. Orcs & Elves (DS) (good game)
8. From The Abyss (DS) (decent game)
9. Army of Two (360) (decent game)
10. Psychic World (Master System) (subpar game)
11. Endless Ocean: Blue World (Wii) (amazing game)

Endless Ocean: Blue World is a hybrid of scuba simulation, puzzle solving & dialogue choosing adventure, action-RPG, and themepark management. To say Blue World is content rich and full of things to do would be an understatement. Join a rag tag band of diving specialists and seek out a mythical treasure, all while doing as many copious sidequests as you see fit. Some of the best graphics you can find on Wii will draw you into this aquatic fantasy as the hours drift away. Endless Ocean: Blue World is a constantly rewarding, forward thinking, and entirely innovative experience that open minded gamers should dive deeply into indeed.

I put a little over 18 hours into it, and could easily have put 20 more hours to finish all the sidequests. But alas the backlog beckons.

[Ack]

1. Renegade Ops (PC)(Multidirectional Shooter)
2. Borderlands 2 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
3. Gunpoint (PC)(Puzzle Platformer)
4. Robotrek (SNES)(RPG)
5. The Tick (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
6. Alien vs Predator (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
7. X-Kaliber 2097 (SNES)(Action Platformer)
8. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
9. Shadowrun (SNES)(RPG)

I agree with Popo, this game is very much like a point and click with some RPG elements. The combat is simplistic, most of the game revolves around talking to people and figuring out when to use particular items, and magic basically breaks the game. The boss fights feel off, like the devs just weren't sure how to handle them, and some of them are very point-and-click oriented, such as the vampire. There are several bugs, and the final battle is a massive let down.

Yet I still found the game awesome. I guess it must be the setting, the way the story unfolds, and the overall presentation, because Shadowrun succeeded in making me feel like all of this was a small piece of a much larger world in a grim near future. Whether it's the locked doors, the distant streets, the potential for a much larger subway system, etc., Seattle of the future feels like a real place and not just a series of corridors stuck together or a gimped and unrealistically small planet where the action takes place. I appreciated this, just like I appreciated that I could hire Shadowrunners to work with me. I only did once, and I wasn't impressed, but knowing that there were mercenaries available when I needed them was a boon. I might have used them more if hacking wasn't so easy, combat so simplistic, and magic so overpowered.

The game has problems, but it makes up for them by providing a cyberpunk feel that I had been seeking for a while. For that, I was able to look past the missteps and issues to find I really enjoyed the game. It made for a fun ride.

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2015

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call - 3DS
A Bird Story - PC
Quake - PC
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PS4
Quake: Scourge of Armagon - PC
Quake: Dissolution of Eternity - PC
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - NDS
Painkiller - PC
Gungrave: Overdose - PS2
Adventure -Atari 2600 (PS2)
Auto Racing - Intellivision (PS2) [1979]
Boxing - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1980]
The Count - TI99/4A (emulated) [1981]
Dragonstomper - Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger (emulated) [1982]
Enduro - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1983]
Diablo III - PS4
Front Line - Atari 2600 (emulated) [1984]
Gertie Goose - The Lost Eggs - C64 (emulated) [1985]
Ocean Commander - Wii
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - PS2
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - PS4
Mortal Kombat: Deception - PS2
The Order: 1886 - PS4
The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo - PC
Grab Them By The Eyes - PC
Growl - PS2/Arcade
Hydlide - NES [1986]
Ikari Warriors - NES [1987] *new*
Jonah Barrington's Squash - C64 (emulated) [1988] *new*

Total: 29

Previously: 2014 | The First 400 Games

Ikari Warriors for the NES is an interesting early "Games as Art" title. The game takes a well-known SNK arcade title and transforms it into an interpretive rhythm game. Players are given the freedom to move their character around the screen in a parody of "typical" video game movement while throwing an irregular barrage of colorful dots and squares around at various mercenaries, soldiers, and the machineries of war. The game's clever twist is that players are given a five second window in which to input A, B, B, A every 2 minutes or so, keeping the game's rhythm and allowing the players to proceed towards each level's exit. The end result is that by the time the demon-door at the end of the game is defeated, players have learned a mental lesson about the futility of war and a physical one (in their fingers) about the pain it can cause. A beautiful anti-war game.

Prior to playing this "J" game from 1988, I didn't know anything about squash or about Jonah Barrington. Now, I know that I like the former and that the latter is a right bastard that takes a lot of practice to figure out how to beat. Games are educational.

[nullPointer]

The list so far ...

1. BioShock 2 [PC/Steam]
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past [SNES/bsnes v084]
3. Richard and Alice [PC/Steam]
4. Rygar [NES/Nestopia v1.40]
5. Mega Man [NES/Nestopia v1.40]
6. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood [PC/Steam]
7. River City Ransom EX [GBA/VBA-M v1229]

8. Super Mario All-Stars: Super Mario Bros. (SNES/bsnes v084)

Super Mario All-Stars: Super Mario Bros.

So I played this game partly in honor of mjmjr25's Super Mario weekend celebration with his family, and partly out of serendipity since I had been intended to replay the Mario series this year anyway. Ya know it's funny; pretty much every time I fire up Super Mario Bros. it's the original NES version, and I always forget about this updated release of the game. And that's a shame really because I have no qualms declaring this to be the definitive version of the game (I do realize that this is the second game in a row that I've declared to be a 'definitive version', but hey the shoe fits, so I'm going to wear it. And you should wear it too, because this game rules). So yeah, there's not a lot to say about Super Mario Bros. that hasn't been said 100 times before. This is retro gaming 101, ground zero for a new era of side scrolling platformers. If you've not played this game, or if you've not checked out this particular version of the game, get out there and do it.

I'll mention a few things about the All Stars version of the game that I had forgotten and was charmed to rediscover. First and foremost the graphical facelift the game received is stunning, and of the same quality as Super Mario World on the SNES (I think a lot of the sprite art was lifted whole cloth from SMW), including parallax scrolling between foreground and background artwork. I hadn't exactly forgotten that part, but it was nice to be reminded again just how great this game looks. Secondly, there are nice little 'title cards' between levels which show the level number, number of lives remaining, and cool little pictures of the level showing you what sort of terrain and enemies to expect. But the best part that I really had forgotten, is that there's a different set of animations for Toad at the end of each world (the part where you discover that the princess is in another castle). It really adds some icing on the cake when you complete each world, instead of being treated to the same taunt with the same graphics each and every time.

I don't think it's just me, but the All Stars version is also a fair bit easier than the original NES release as well. Among other things, you're initially given 5 lives instead of 3, and furthermore you receive an additional life for each fully completed world. Given this, it seems a bit counterintuitive then that the controls in All Stars SMB are a bit more drifty and loose than in the original release. It certainly doesn't hurt the gameplay, but it is noticeable at times. Lastly the animations for Mario can make it a bit harder to line up jumps. In the 8-bit version, Mario would always come to rest with his legs and torso facing the screen. This made it easy to line up certain jumps where you needed to start with 'just one toe on the ledge' so to speak (here I'm thinking specifically of level 8-2, as well as most of the flagpole jumps). In All Stars, Mario comes to rest facing forward relative to the screen, so we see Mario's legs and torso from the side rather than from the front. As a result, trying to get 'just one toe on the ledge' doesn't really work quite the same. Even still, the game is more forgiving than the 8-bit version, so this is rarely, if ever, an issue.

All told, this is an updated version of a classic game which has itself gone on to become a classic. So what we have here is a classic2. Drop what you're doing, and go play it. You can thank me later. Whether it's for the first time or the thousandth time, this is time well spent.

[J T]

Ikari Warriors for the NES is an interesting early "Games as Art" title. The game takes a well-known SNK arcade title and transforms it into an interpretive rhythm game. Players are given the freedom to move their character around the screen in a parody of "typical" video game movement while throwing an irregular barrage of colorful dots and squares around at various mercenaries, soldiers, and the machineries of war. The game's clever twist is that players are given a five second window in which to input A, B, B, A every 2 minutes or so, keeping the game's rhythm and allowing the players to proceed towards each level's exit. The end result is that by the time the demon-door at the end of the game is defeated, players have learned a mental lesson about the futility of war and a physical one (in their fingers) about the pain it can cause. A beautiful anti-war game.

[BoneSnapDeez]

How does the 7800 port compare to the NES one?

[dsheinem]

How does the 7800 port compare to the NES one?

Not as good. Shocking, I know!

Games Beaten 2015

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call - 3DS
A Bird Story - PC
Quake - PC
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PS4
Quake: Scourge of Armagon - PC
Quake: Dissolution of Eternity - PC
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - NDS
Painkiller - PC
Gungrave: Overdose - PS2
Adventure -Atari 2600 (PS2)
Auto Racing - Intellivision (PS2) [1979]
Boxing - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1980]
The Count - TI99/4A (emulated) [1981]
Dragonstomper - Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger (emulated) [1982]
Enduro - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1983]
Diablo III - PS4
Front Line - Atari 2600 (emulated) [1984]
Gertie Goose - The Lost Eggs - C64 (emulated) [1985]
Ocean Commander - Wii
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - PS2
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - PS4
Mortal Kombat: Deception - PS2
The Order: 1886 - PS4
The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo - PC
Grab Them By The Eyes - PC
Growl - PS2/Arcade
Hydlide - NES [1986]
Ikari Warriors - NES [1987]
Jonah Barrington's Squash - C64 (emulated) [1988]
Steel Diver - 3DS *new*

Total: 30

Previously: 2014 | The First 400 Games

I have been playing a few runs/missions of Steel Diver every day or so for the last few weeks and finally finished the game last night. It is an interesting concept for a DS game, and one that really feels perfect on the hardware. I know Flake loves the spinoff multiplayer Sub Wars game that came out a year or so ago...can anyone who has played through both give me a sense of how it compares to the original?

[BoneSnapDeez]

How does the 7800 port compare to the NES one?

Not as good. Shocking, I know!

That's actually kind of frightening considering how poor the NES game is.

I took a break from my latest and greatest playthrough of Crystalis to tackle a couple of 2nd genners.

1. Grandia (PlayStation)
2. Jungle Hunt (Xbox - Taito Legends)
3. Jungle Hunt (Atari 2600)
4. Jungle Hunt (Plug & Play - ColecoVision Flashback)
5. Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)
6. Donkey Kong (Intellivision)
7. Donkey Kong (ColecoVision)
8. Bubble Bobble (NES)
9. Side Arms: Hyper Dyne (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)
10. 1941: Counter Attack (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)
11. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (PSP)
12. The Ninja Kids (Xbox - Taito Legends)
13. Neutopia (TurboGrafx-16)
14. Golden Axe Warrior (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
15. Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 (Dreamcast)
16. Growl (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
17. Arabian Magic (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
18. Dungeon Magic (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
19. Gekirindan (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
20. Ys II (Saturn - Falcom Classics II)
21. Darius Gaiden (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
22. G Darius (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
23. Giana Sisters DS (DS)
24. RayStorm (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
25. Mr. Do! (ColecoVision)
26. Beauty & the Beast (Intellivision)

Mr. Do!

Mr. Do! is one of those golden age arcade games (with a trillion ports) that I've been aware of forever, but had never played until now.

Turns out the game is very similar to Dig Dig, which was released a few months earlier (both in 1982).

The eponymous Mr. Do! is apparently some sort of circus clown, though on the ColecoVision he appears to be a man in pajamas. I honestly prefer it this way. Much like Dig Dug, each level is a single screen of "dirt" which can be excavated in four directions. And like the Dig Dug digger, Mr. Do! can apparently defy gravity by walking straight up through negative space he's already dug out.

The goal here is not to destroy all the monsters, which spawn in the center of each stage and chase our hero around, but to collect cherries. Mr. Do is not defenseless as he has a projectile weapon. After each use the weapon disappears until its retrieved (after missing a monster) or it respawns in Mr. Do's hand (after connecting with a monster). There are also large apples which will drop on bad guys if the dirt directly underneath them is removed, though these can injure Mr. Do as well if he's below one.

Mr. Do! looks great on the ColecoVision and controls very smoothly (no keypad buttons are used). The soundtrack and quaint and cute, each cherry collected produces a distinct "note" which just adds to the charm.

As expected, the game is a "looper" with 10 distinct levels. My strategy for the first loop: just collect cherries as quickly as possibles. The enemies will be slow and offensive maneuvers aren't really needed. On subsequent loops the enemies get much quicker and proper projectile/apple use is necessary to survive.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I feel inspired to check out some of the other variations, such as the SNES port (released in 1996) and Neo Geo remake (Neo Mr. Do!).

Beauty & the Beast

This one's not an arcade port, but an Intellivision exclusive (I think?). The game was developed by Imagic - best known for Atlantis and Demon Attack - and shares the distinctive bright silver box and cartridge artwork. Oh, and this has nothing to do with the Disney movie.

Beauty & the Beast is very similar to Donkey Kong, both in terms of style and execution. The protagonist (some "nerdy" looking guy named Buford) must rescue his girlfriend who's being held by a hulking giant at the top of a skyscraper.

Each level takes place on one screen where Buford must scale a building section. He can only climb up while windows are open. In the meantime Buford must avoid rocks(?) hurled by the villain as well as random animals creeping around. Occasionally the gf will toss him a heart which seems to grant some temporary invincibility. There's a nice little cutscene between each level which shows how much of the skyscraper remains to be scaled.

Buford moves quickly. It's no exaggeration to say that some levels can be beaten in under 5 seconds. When he reaches the top the Beast is tossed off the building and he and the lady escape in an airplane. The game continues looping with some added challenge each time.

One random thing that amused me: Beauty & the Beast came packaged with screen overlays despite the fact that exactly zero of the Intellivision keypad buttons are used. Instead there are labeled arrows pointing to both the side buttons ("JUMP") and bottom control disc ("MOVE BUFORD"). It's actually not that uncommon to see this with Intellivision games and is a testament to how awkward and over-ambitious the controller was.

This was another fun little game. It's cheap, easy, and short. Highly recommended for all Intellivision owners.

[prfsnl_gmr]

How does the 7800 port compare to the NES one?

Not as good. Shocking, I know!

That's actually kind of frightening considering how poor the NES game is.

The sad thing is that the arcade game is really, really good. Its unique "rotating" joystick prevented us from getting a great home port, however. (At least in part...the unique joystick does not entirely excuse the shoddiness of the 7800 and NES versions...)

I have not played the SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 0 (PSP) version, but I plan on importing the game at some point. Hopefully, the port will not disappoint me too much.